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longtemps

Etymology and origin of the French word longtemps

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Compound
First attested
late 10th century, Passion de Clermont (long temps); 1498–1515 (longtemps)
Ultimate origins
Latin (longus)Proto-Italic (*tempos-)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
French long
French longtemps

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /lɔ̃.tɑ̃/[1]

Forms

longtemps[1] Old French lonc tens (about 980), Middle French long temps (about 1361); written as one word from the early 16th century.[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is formed from French long + temps, the welding (1498–1515) of the old adverbial phrase “long temps”, Old French lonc tens.[4][5][3][6] The adjective continues Latin longus (“long”), the noun Latin tempus (“time”).[7][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Long temps is first found at the end of the 10th century in the Passion of Clermont, in the sense “for a long time”; the one-word spelling is in Pierre Gringore (1498–1515).[4]

Semantic evolution

Used as a noun after a preposition it is found from about 1145 (Wace, de lonc tens), and longtemps avant or après in Wace about 1155.[4][2] Il y a longtemps que dates from 1563 (Bernard Palissy).[4][5] Classical French used de longtemps for both “for a long while” and “since long ago”, also dès longtemps; with a negative future, as in on ne le reverra pas de longtemps, the word has pointed to a long time ahead since 1835.[5]

Longtemps does not duplicate longuement, an adverb of manner implying that something takes all the time it needs, or too much.[5] In the French of the Indian Ocean, after the Creole, létemps longtemps means “long ago”.[5]

Timeline

  • Late 10th century – Long temps in the Passion of Clermont.[4]
  • c. 1145 – De lonc tens, in Wace.[4]
  • c. 1361 – The spelling long temps, in Oresme.[2]
  • 1498–1515 – Longtemps as one word, in Pierre Gringore.[4]
  • 1563 – Il y a longtemps que, in Bernard Palissy.[4]
  • 1835 – With a negative future.[5]

Meanings

Adverb

  1. For a long time, over a long period: il a longtemps vécu à Paris.[1][2]
  2. Longtemps avant, longtemps après: long before, long after.[2]

Noun

  1. After a preposition: a long time: depuis longtemps, pour longtemps, avant longtemps.[8][5]
  2. Il y a longtemps que: it has been a long time since.[4][8]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  3. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j 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
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 5, 417a
  7. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  8. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
Cite this entry

“Longtemps.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/longtemps. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

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