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mode

Etymology and origin of the French word mode

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
c. 1393, Ménagier de Paris
Borrowed from
Latin modus
Ultimate origin
Latin (modus)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin modus
English mode
French mode

Pronunciation

Forms

mode f (plural modes)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin modus (“measure; manner, way, (in music) mode, (in grammar) mood”),[2][3][4][5] first as a feminine noun because of its ending in “-e”;[2][3] the masculine was reintroduced from the mid-15th century, probably under Latin influence, for technical senses (grammar, music, philosophy).[2][4][1] Rey explains that “modus” belongs to the group of medeor (“to heal”), from a root meaning “to take appropriate measures”.[3][6]

Old and Middle French also had an inherited form muef, “moeuf”, for the grammatical and musical senses.[2][4][1] Italian moda and Spanish moda “fashion” come from French.[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Ménagier de Paris (about 1393) has poucins à la mode lombarde, chicken “in the Lombard way”, the sense “collective way of living, proper to a country or a period”.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

This sense survives in à la mode de: neveu à la mode de Bretagne (d'Aubigné, 1619) “first cousin once removed”, bœuf à la mode (1651) and tripes à la mode de Caen.[2][3][8] From 1452 it was also an individual's way of doing things (à sa mode), still regional.[2][3] The usual modern sense, the passing collective taste in dress and appearance, appears in 1480 (s'abiller a mode nouvelle), with à la mode (1549) and passer de mode (1747);[2][3] marchande de modes (1692) refers to women's clothing, and la mode to the fashion trade (1860).[2]

As a masculine noun, le mode is a grammatical mood (1550, first feminine; masculine in Cotgrave, 1611), a musical mode (Amyot, 1547; d'Aubigné's mode Dorien, 1598), a philosophical mode (Descartes, 1647) and a form of action (mode de vie, 1797, mode d'emploi, 1872).[2][9] English took mode from French and Latin.[6]

Timeline

  • c. 1393 – À la mode lombarde in the Ménagier de Paris.[2]
  • 1480 – S'abiller a mode nouvelle in Coquillart.[2]
  • 1549 – À la mode.[3]
  • 1598 – Le mode dorien (masculine) in d'Aubigné.[2]
  • 1611 – The grammatical mode as a masculine, in Cotgrave.[2]
  • 1651 – Bœuf à la mode.[2]
  • 1692 – Marchande de modes.[2]
  • 1872 – Mode d'emploi.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (feminine) Fashion, vogue: à la mode, suivre la mode, passé de mode.[8][10]
  2. (feminine) The fashion trade; women's clothing: travailler dans la mode.[2][10]
  3. (feminine) Way, manner: à la mode de chez nous, cousin à la mode de Bretagne.[8][11]
  4. (masculine) A mode, form, method: mode de vie, mode d'emploi, mode de paiement.[10][2]
  5. (masculine, grammar) A mood: le mode subjonctif.[8][10]
  6. (masculine, music) A mode: mode majeur, mineur.[8][2]

Word family

  • modiste
  • démodé
  • modal
  • modalité
  • modèle
  • démodé
  • modiste

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 6/3, 19b
  6. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  7. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  8. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  9. ^ Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
  10. ^ a b c d Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
  11. ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)

Borrowed into

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Mode.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/mode. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

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