Etymologically
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manquer

Etymology and origin of the French word manquer

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1546, Rabelais, Tiers Livre
Borrowed from
Italian mancare
Ultimate origin
Latin (mancus)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /mɑ̃.ke/[1]

Forms

manquer[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Italian mancare (“to be lacking, fail”), a Renaissance borrowing, derived from the adjective manco (“lacking, defective”), from Latin mancus (“maimed, crippled; defective”).[2][3][1][4] Italian “mancare” already had all the senses of the French verb, so it is hard to say how many were borrowed and how many developed in French.[2] The Grand Robert has an isolated record from 1398, Littré derived it from a Late Latin “mancare” “to maim” in the barbarian laws.[5][6] Latin “mancus” is also behind manchot.[3][4]

Compare Occitan mancar and Old Spanish “mancar”.[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in Rabelais's Tiers Livre (1546), meaning “to be absent, fail to be there”, of a person; in 1559 it is said of a needed thing.[7][2]

Semantic evolution

Its other senses appeared around 1600 and express a moral failing: manquer à “to fail in (a duty)” (1604) and “to fail in one's duties to someone” (1611).[7][2] Manquer de “to lack” dates from 1604, manquer de parole from the same author.[7] Manquer de or à with an infinitive, “to neglect to”, is from 1596 and 1645, surviving in ne pas manquer de.[7][2]

The transitive “to miss, fail to hit or catch” is from 1647, and manquer de + infinitive “to nearly do” competes with faillir.[7][2][1] The modern tu me manques “I miss you” is the old sense “to be lacking to someone”.[1] The noun manque dates from 1594, manquement from 1566 and immanquable from 1652.[3]

Timeline

  • 1546 – “To be absent”, in Rabelais.[7]
  • 1559 – Of a needed thing, in Grévin.[7]
  • 1566 – Manquement.[3]
  • 1594 – The noun manque.[3]
  • 1604 – Manquer à (a duty) and manquer de “to lack”, in Montchrestien.[7]
  • 1647 – “To miss (a target)”, in Du Ryer.[7]
  • 1652 – Immanquable.[3]

Meanings

Verb

  1. (intransitive) To be lacking, missing, absent: le temps nous manque.[4][1]
  2. Manquer à quelqu'un: to be missed by: tu me manques “I miss you”.[1]
  3. Manquer de: to lack, be short of: manquer d'argent.[1][5]
  4. Manquer à: to fail in (a duty, promise): manquer à sa parole.[1][7]
  5. Manquer de + infinitive: to nearly do: il a manqué de tomber, ne pas manquer de: not to fail to.[1][2]
  6. (transitive) To miss: manquer le train, manquer la cible; to fail: manquer son coup.[1][6]

Word family

  • manque
  • manquement
  • immanquable

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  3. ^ 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
  4. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  7. ^ 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

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Manquer.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/manquer. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

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