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lorsque

Etymology and origin of the French word lorsque

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Compound
First attested
c. 1200, Le Châtelain de Coucy (lors que)
Ultimate origins
Latin (illa hora)French (que)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
French lors
French lorsque

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /lɔʁsk/[1]
  • IPA: /lɔʁ.skə/[1]

Forms

lorsque[1] Written lors que from about 1200; joined in the 15th or 16th century (lorsque in Palsgrave, 1530), though the Académie printed lors que until 1762.[2][3]

Etymology

It is a compound from French lors + que.[3][2][4][1][5] The /s/ of “lors” had fallen silent, and its pronunciation in “lorsque” was restored only in the 17th century: Daniel Martin still wrote “lorke” in 1632.[3][6] The GLLF and the TLFi attribute the change to the influence of parce que, and the TLFi compares puisque and jusque.[6][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found about 1200 in the songs of the Châtelain de Coucy: lors que la vi, li laissai en hostage mon cuer “when I saw her, I left her my heart as a hostage”.[3][4]

Semantic evolution

It has always marked simultaneity, “at the time when”; with the conditional or the indicative it also expresses contrast, “whereas”, a literary use first noted in Corneille (1642).[6][7] It is more literary than quand and draws more attention to the clause it introduces.[6] In the 18th century Parisians said lorseque, with a reinforcing /ə/, a pronunciation criticised in 1733.[3]

Timeline

  • c. 1200 – Lors que, the Châtelain de Coucy.[3]
  • 1530 – Lorsque in one word, Palsgrave.[3]
  • 1632 – Still pronounced lorke.[3]
  • 1642 – Contrastive use, Corneille.[6]
  • 1835 – The Académie writes it in one word.[3]

Meanings

Conjunction

  1. when, at the time when: lorsque tu auras fini, viens me voir.[7][1]
  2. (literary) Whereas, while: on fait des discours lorsqu'il faut agir.[7][6]

Usage notes

The final e is elided before il, elle, on, en, un and une (lorsqu'il), and in modern usage often before any vowel.[8][9] The two parts may be separated: lors donc que vous viendrez.[4]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  3. ^ 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
  4. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 4, 475a
  6. ^ a b c d e f Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  7. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  8. ^ Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
  9. ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
Cite this entry

“Lorsque.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/lorsque. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·