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mademoiselle

Etymology and origin of the French word mademoiselle

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Compound
First attested
1471
Ultimate origin
Latin (domina)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /mad.mwa.zɛl/[1]

Forms

mademoiselle f (plural mesdemoiselles or mademoiselles, abbreviation Mlle or Mlle.)[1] Plural mesdemoiselles; familiar contractions mameselle (1680), mamzelle, mam'selle.[2][3][1]

Etymology

It is formed from French ma + demoiselle, with the possessive, as madame is from dame.[4][5][3][2][1] In the Middle Ages the possessive and the noun were not yet felt as one word.[2] The noun comes from Late Latin *domnicella, for *dominicella, a diminutive of Latin domina (“mistress, lady”), a word found only in Gallo-Romance.[3][2][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

A document of 1471 in the archives of the Nord uses it as a title given to certain women of rank.[4] Des Périers (about 1534) has a gentleman speak of ma demoiselle ma femme, and Montaigne writes À mademoiselle de Montaigne, ma femme.[7][8]

Semantic evolution

Before the Revolution mademoiselle was the title of noblewomen without a title of their own, married or not, then of women of the bourgeoisie, while madame was reserved for women of higher rank.[7][3][2] With a capital it was the title of the daughter of Monsieur, the king's brother, the Grande Mademoiselle (Madame de Sévigné, 1670).[4][9]

The modern opposition between mademoiselle for unmarried women and madame formed in the 17th century: Furetière (1690) gives it to all unmarried girls “provided they are not of the dregs of the people, or daughters of craftsmen”, and the Académie (1718) calls it the usual title of girls.[4][3] Diderot (1760–72) uses it for the daughter of the house.[4] English borrowed it as a title for a Frenchwoman in the mid-15th century.[10]

Timeline

  • 1471 – A title of women of rank.[4]
  • c. 1534 – Ma demoiselle ma femme, Des Périers.[7]
  • 1670 – Mademoiselle, the daughter of Monsieur, Madame de Sévigné.[4]
  • 1680 – The contraction mameselle.[2]
  • 1690 – The title of unmarried girls, Furetière.[4]
  • 1760–1772 – “The daughter of the house”, Diderot.[4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Miss: a title or form of address for a girl or young woman, formerly for any unmarried woman: Mademoiselle Dupont, bonjour, mademoiselle.[9][1]
  2. (dated) The young lady of the house: Mademoiselle a téléphoné.[4][9]
  3. (history) A title of noblewomen without a title, la Grande Mademoiselle, the Duchess of Montpensier.[9][7]
  • mondamoiseau
  • demoiselle
  • madame
  • damoiseau
  • dame
  • English mademoiselle

Usage notes

It is abbreviated Mlle, plural Mlles.[4][9]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  3. ^ a b c d e Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k 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. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 3, 133b
  7. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  8. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  9. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  10. ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
Cite this entry

“Mademoiselle.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/mademoiselle. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

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