Etymologically
Log in

lendemain

Etymology and origin of the French word lendemain

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Compound
First attested
1292 (landemain)
Ultimate origin
Latin (in,de mane)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
French en
French ensuite
French envers
French endroit
French enfin
French lendemain
French enlever

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /lɑ̃.d(ə).mɛ̃/[1]

Forms

lendemain m (plural lendemains)[1] L'endemain, from endemain (about 1140, Gaimar), until the 15th century, lendemain as one word from 1292.[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is the elided article “l’” fused with Old French “endemain” “the following day”, itself from French en + demain.[2][4][5][3][1] Littré explains that once the article had fused, its origin was forgotten and another article was added, le l'endemain“; the two forms competed in the 15th and 16th centuries, and by the 17th ”lendemain“ was felt as a single word.[6] ”Demain is from Late Latin dē māne (“from the morning”).[3][7]

Compare Italian l'indomani.[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

A document of 1292 has li seconz landemain de l'Assumpcion, the day after a given day.[2]

Semantic evolution

Le lendemain que “the day after” is in Commynes (end of the 15th century), du jour au lendemain in Ronsard (mid-16th century).[2][5] Marot (before 1544) uses it for the time to come, in avoir souci du lendemain.[2] Furetière (1690) has it for the period just after an event: a marriage one sometimes regrets the next day.[2] Surlendemain is in Lesage (18th century).[3]

Timeline

  • c. 1140 – Endemain, Gaimar.[2]
  • 1292 – Landemain.[2]
  • late 15th century – Le lendemain que, Commynes.[2]
  • before 1544 – The future, Marot.[2]
  • mid-16th century – Du jour au lendemain, Ronsard.[5]
  • 17th century – The single form lendemain prevails.[6]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The next day, the day after: le lendemain matin, le lendemain de son arrivée.[4][1]
  2. Du jour au lendemain: overnight, very suddenly.[5]
  3. The future: penser au lendemain, sans lendemain, short-lived.[2][5]
  4. The time just after an event, (plural) consequences: les lendemains de la guerre.[2][5]
  • demain
  • surlendemain
  • après-demain

Usage notes

The proverb il ne faut jamais remettre au lendemain ce qu'on peut faire le jour même is quoted by the GLLF.[5]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l 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 Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  4. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  6. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  7. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 3, 37a
Cite this entry

“Lendemain.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/lendemain. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·