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monétaire

Etymology and origin of the French word monétaire

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1596, Charondas le Caron
Borrowed from
Latin monetarius
Ultimate origin
Latin (monēta)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin monetarius
English monetary
French monétaire

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /mɔ.ne.tɛʁ/[1]

Forms

monétaire (plural monétaires)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Late Latin monētārius (“of money, monetary”) (5th century),[2][3][4][5] from Latin monēta (“mint; coinage”), the source of the inherited monnaie;[2][1] in classical Latin “monetarius” referred to the mint.[1] Littré also records a noun “monétaire”, the moneyer whose name appeared on Merovingian coins.[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Charondas le Caron's Pandectes ou Digestes du droit françois (1596) has monétaire “relating to coins”.[2][7]

Semantic evolution

The adjective has always been the technical word for what concerns money, its minting and its value.[2][3] It entered several phrases of economics: système monétaire (1802–1828), masse monétaire (1958), marché monétaire, the serpent monétaire and the Fonds monétaire international.[7][3][8] The 20th century formed monétairement, monétariser (about 1965) and monétarisme (about 1970), and the 1980s monétique.[3]

Timeline

  • 5th century – Late Latin monetarius.[2]
  • 1596 – Monétaire in Charondas le Caron.[2]
  • 1793 – Démonétiser.[3]
  • 1802 – Système monétaire.[7]
  • 1958 – Masse monétaire.[7]
  • c. 1970 – Monétarisme.[3]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Monetary, relating to money or currency: politique monétaire, unité monétaire, masse monétaire.[8][9]
  2. Relating to the minting of coins: atelier monétaire.[9][10]

Word family

  • monétarisme
  • monétiser
  • démonétiser

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ 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, 78a
  6. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  7. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  8. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  9. ^ a b Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
  10. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Monétaire.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/mon%C3%A9taire. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

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