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message

Etymology and origin of the French word message

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 1050, Vie de saint Alexis
Ultimate origin
Latin (mittō)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /mɛ.saʒ/[1]
  • IPA: /me.saʒ/[1]

Forms

message m (plural messages)[1]

Etymology

It is formed with the suffix -age on Old French mes (“envoy, messenger”) (“meis”, late 10th century), from Late Latin missus (“one sent”), the past participle of Latin mittō (“to send”) used as a noun (see mettre).[2][3][4][5][6] Compare Medieval Latin missāticum (“errand, commission”) (845).[2][7] Wiktionary has it inherited from that Medieval Latin word.[1]

Italian messaggio and Spanish mensaje come from Gallo-Romance; English message was borrowed from French.[4][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the Vie de saint Alexis (about 1050) the father, hearing what the letter says, cries E! filz, cum dolerus message! “Oh son, what a sorrowful message!”: the content of a communication.[2][7]

Semantic evolution

In the Chanson de Roland (about 1100) faire un message is to deliver a message, and message also meant the messenger himself, until the 16th century, whence the early derivative messager.[2][4] Wace (1155) uses it for a mission or embassy, a sense since lost.[2][3] In the early 13th century it is a revelation brought by an inspired messenger, and today, more broadly, the lesson of a work or a person.[2][3]

After English message, itself from French, it meant the sovereign's official communication to the English Parliament (1704), then any official communication of the authorities (1823).[2][3] In the 20th century it became a term of information theory, semiotics and biology, and the everyday word for a text or voice message.[3][8]

Timeline

  • c. 1050 – Message, Vie de saint Alexis.[2]
  • c. 1100 – Faire un message; a messenger, Chanson de Roland.[2]
  • 1155 – A mission, Wace.[2]
  • early 13th century – A divine message.[2]
  • 1704 – The king's message to Parliament.[2]
  • 1823 – An official communication.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A message: laisser un message, message téléphonique, envoyer un message.[8][1]
  2. An official communication: message du président.[2][3]
  3. The message, lesson (of a work, a teacher): le message de l'Évangile.[3]
  4. (information theory, biology) A message.[3]

Word family

  • messagerie

Usage notes

Old French message also meant the messenger, Littré gives this use its own entry, from Late Latin missaticus “one who is sent”.[7][4]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n 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
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c d Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  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. 6/2, 184a
  7. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  8. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
Cite this entry

“Message.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/message. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

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