millionnaire

Forms

millionnaire m or f by sense (plural millionnaires)^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from French million + -aire.^[2][3][4][1] Littré reports the tradition that it was coined in the vogue of John Law's financial system.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Grand Robert, the Petit Robert and the DHLF date the word to 1721, of a person who owns a million or more;^[4][6][3] the TLFi's first quotation is from Lesage's La Valise trouvée (1740).^[2]

Semantic evolution

The word first described someone whose fortune ran to millions, and by extension anyone very rich, a sense the GLLF dates from Balzac (1846).^[2][3][7] Phrases such as millionnaire en dollars specify the currency.^[3][2] The compound multimillionnaire followed in 1898,^[3] and in modern French a ville millionnaire is a city of at least a million inhabitants.^[6] English took millionaire from French in 1821.^[8]

Timeline

• 1721 – First record.^[4][6][3]
• 1740 – Lesage uses it in La Valise trouvée.^[2][7]
• 1752 – The Trévoux dictionary records it.^[9]
• 1821 – English borrows it as millionaire.^[8]
• 1846 – Balzac uses it for a very rich person.^[7]
• 1898 – Multi-millionnaire appears.^[3]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Owning one or more millions in money; by extension, very rich.^[6][2][10]
2. Of a city: having at least a million inhabitants: ville millionnaire.^[6]

Noun

1. A millionaire, a man or woman who owns a million or more, or is very rich.^[6][2][1]

Related words

• million
• milliardaire
• English millionaire

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
6. ^ a b c d e f Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
8. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
9. ^ Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
10. ^ Wiktionnaire (French Wiktionary), fr.wiktionary.org