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invité

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Etymology and origin of the French word invité

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
14th century (adjective)
Borrowed from
Latin invito
Ultimate origin
Latin invītō
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin invito
English invite
French invité
French inviter

Pronunciation

  • /ɛ̃.vi.te/[1]

Forms

invité m (plural invités, feminine invitée)[1]

Etymology

It is the past participle of inviter, used as an adjective and a noun.[2][3][4] The verb is borrowed from Latin invītō (“to invite, especially to a meal; to encourage”) (1356);[2][5] the Latin verb is of unknown origin and has been linked with invītus (“unwilling”).[5] The Latin verb had given Old French envier by regular change, but that verb was lost beside its homonym, leaving only à l'envi.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The participle is used as an adjective from the 14th century.[3] As a noun it is first found in 1786, in a letter of Madame de Staël: la moitié des invités est déjà partie “half the guests have already left”.[2]

Semantic evolution

The GLLF and the Petit Robert date the noun only from the early 19th century (Paul-Louis Courier, before 1825), later than the TLFi's 1786.[3][4][2]

Timeline

  • 1356 – The verb inviter is recorded.[2]
  • 14th century – Invité as an adjective.[3]
  • 1786 – The noun les invités in Madame de Staël.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A guest, a person invited to a meal, a party, a ceremony or another event.[2][4][1]
  2. Invité de marque: a distinguished guest.[2][4]

Adjective

  1. invited.[1][6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
  3. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  4. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Invité.” Etymologically, 22 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/invit%C3%A9. Accessed 22 Oct. 2026.

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