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linger

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Etymology and origin of the French word linger

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1292 Taille de Paris More words from the 13th century
Ultimate origins
Proto-Italic *līno-,*-eosFrench -ier
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin līnum
French lin
Italian lino
Spanish lino
Latin līneus
French linge
French linger
From the same root
Latin linteus ← līnum
French lingerie ← līneus
Latin līnea ← līneus

Pronunciation

Forms

linger m (plural lingers, feminine lingère)[1] Old French lingier, feminine lingiere; the forms linger, lingère are found in a royal edict of April 1597.[2][3]

Etymology

It is formed from French linge + -ier, the suffix being reduced to ⟨-er⟩ after the palatal consonant.[2][1] Littré traces the ending to Latin -ārius, which expresses a habit or a trade.[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded in the tax roll of Paris for 1292, as the occupational names Jehan le lingier and Dame Ylaire la lingiere, for a person who makes or sells linen.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

The feminine is used as an adjective in fames lingieres in an ordinance of the provost of Paris of 1302, and marchands lingers is recorded by Furetière in 1690.[2][3] An edict of 1581 mentions the trade of the lingeres as authorised in 1480.[4] From 1680 the word also named the person who looks after the linen of a community, mostly in apposition in frère linger.[2][5] The masculine has become old-fashioned and rare, while the feminine lingère stays usual.[2] The feminine also names a linen cupboard (armoire lingère).[2]

Timeline

  • 1292 – Lingier and lingiere in the tax roll of Paris.[2][3][5]
  • 1302 – Fames lingieres, used as an adjective.[2]
  • 1597 – Linger and lingere in a royal edict.[3][4]
  • 1680 – Richelet's sense “person in charge of the linen of a community”.[2][5]
  • 1690 – Furetière records marchands lingers.[2][3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (dated) A person who makes or sells linen, a linen draper.[2][4][3]
  2. A person in charge of the linen of a large house, hospital or religious community; in apposition as frère linger.[2][4]

Adjective

  1. Dealing in linen, as in marchand linger.[2][4]

Usage notes

Littré also records the feminine lingère as the name of a wingless insect often found in linen cupboards.[4]

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n 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 e f g Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  5. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
Cite this entry

“Linger.” Etymologically, 15 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/linger. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·