Etymology and origin of the French word ménager
ménager1 to use sparingly, to treat with care
- Confidence
- Established
- Formation
- Derivation
- First attested
- 1309 Preuves de l'histoire de Bretagne
- Ultimate origin
- Old French manoir,-age
Etymology tree of ménager1
From the same root · ménager1
Pronunciation
- /me.na.ʒe/[1]
Forms
ménager[1]
Etymology
The verb meaning “to use sparingly” is from French ménage, with the verb ending -er.[2][3][4][5] That noun comes from Old French manoir (“to dwell”), its forms maisnage and mesnage being influenced by maisnée (“household”), from Vulgar Latin *mansionata.[2][6]
Earliest recorded meaning
First found in 1309, intransitive, in the sense “to dwell”; by 1450 it also meant “to see to the housekeeping”, senses common in Old and Middle French.[2][3]
Semantic evolution
The modern senses share the idea of arranging or preparing with care.[3] A single 15th-century record has “to arrange”; from 1567 (Amyot) it meant “to manage a property”, whence “to arrange prudently” (about 1570) and “to make the most of” (1571), with ménager le temps (1605) and ménager ses forces (1679).[2][3] Olivier de Serres lists mesnager la santé, l'amitié, l'occasion, le temps.[5]
The 17th century added “to arrange, to set up” (1621), “to treat someone with consideration” (about 1628), “with indulgence” (mid-17th century), “to spare troops or a mount fatigue” (1646, ménager sa monture 1668) and the reflexive se ménager “to look after oneself” (1662).[2][3][7] In 1690 Furetière records “to make room for”, as in mesnager un escalier in the thickness of a wall.[2][3]
Its derivatives include ménagement (1551) and aménager.[3]
Timeline
- 1309 – First found, meaning “to dwell”.[2][7]
- 1450 – “To keep house”.[2]
- 1551 – Ménagement appears.[3]
- 1567 – Amyot uses it for “to manage a property”.[2]
- 1605 – Ménager le temps in Olivier de Serres.[2][5]
- 1628–1630 – “To treat with consideration” in Agrippa d'Aubigné.[2]
- 1668 – Racine's ménager sa monture.[2][7]
- 1690 – Furetière records “to make room for”.[2]
Meanings
Verb
- To arrange or prepare with care and skill: ménager une rencontre, ménager une surprise à ses amis.[8][2]
- To make room for or fit in something, after alterations: ménager une fenêtre dans la cloison.[8][2]
- To use sparingly, to save: ménager ses forces, ne pas ménager sa peine.[8][2][1]
- To spare a person or animal fatigue or danger: Qui veut voyager loin ménage sa monture.[8][2]
- To treat someone with tact or indulgence, so as not to offend: ménager la chèvre et le chou.[8][1]
- (reflexive) Se ménager: to take care of one's health, not to overdo things.[8][2][1]
Word family
- ménagement
- aménager
- déménager
- emménager
ménager2 household; housekeeper
- Confidence
- Established
- Formation
- Derivation
- First attested
- 1281
- Ultimate origin
- Old French manoir,-age
Etymology tree of ménager2
From the same root · ménager2
Pronunciation
- /me.na.ʒe/[1]
Forms
ménager (feminine ménagère, masculine plural ménagers, feminine plural ménagères)[1]
Etymology
The adjective and noun meaning “household” is also from French ménage, first found as the noun maynagier (1281).[3][4][8][6][1]
Earliest recorded meaning
In 1281 maynagier is a noun for a man of modest station, especially a day labourer, and then an inhabitant.[3][4][8]
Semantic evolution
The old senses “labourer”, “manager” and “small farmer” (1550) died out.[3] Littré quotes the 14th-century Menagier de Paris, a book on household matters, and 16th-century writers on the bon mesnager who runs his house well.[5]
Only the feminine ménagère lives on as a noun (end of the 14th or early 15th century), for the woman who runs a household; advertising uses la ménagère de moins de cinquante ans, and since 1931 it has also named a boxed set of cutlery.[3][8] As an adjective it meant “thrifty” (1583), then, from 1594, “of the housekeeping”, a sense that grew from the 19th century with appareil ménager and later ordures ménagères.[3][8]
Timeline
- 1281 – Maynagier, a day labourer.[3][6]
- Late 14th–early 15th century – The feminine noun ménagère appears.[3]
- 1583 – The adjective means “thrifty”.[3]
- 1594 – “Of the housekeeping”.[3]
- 1931 – Ménagère is used for a set of cutlery.[3][8]
- 1956 – Ménagiste is formed.[3]
Meanings
Adjective
- Of the household and housework: des travaux ménagers, des appareils ménagers, les arts ménagers.[8][1]
- Coming from households: les ordures ménagères.[8][3]
- (dated) Ménager de: thrifty with: être ménager de son temps.[8]
Noun
Word family
- ménagère
- ménagiste
- électroménager
Related words
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r 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
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
- ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
- ^ a b c d e Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
- ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
- ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
Cite this entry
“Ménager.” Etymologically, 14 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/m%C3%A9nager. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.
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