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monsieur

Etymology and origin of the French word monsieur

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Compound
First attested
1297, as monsor
Ultimate origin
Old French (mon,sieur)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /mə.sjø/[1]
  • IPA (archaic, humorous, sometimes): /mɔ.sjø/[1]
  • IPA (archaic, humorous, sometimes): /mɔ̃.sjø/[1]

Forms

monsieur m (plural messieurs)[1] Old French monsor (1297); popular spellings Moussieu (1750), Mosieu (1751), Mossieu (1794), M'sieu (1815). The plural messieurs, whose /r/ was pronounced until the 18th century, replaced messiours (about 1200) and monsieurs (1549).[2] Abbreviated M., plural MM.; the old pronunciation /mɔsjø/ is now only jocular.[3][4]

Etymology

It is formed from Old French mon + sieur, from the possessive mon and sieur, the old object case of sire, whose subject case gave messire.[3][2][5][1][6] “Sieur” comes from Latin “seiōrem”, for classical Latin senior (“older”), the source also of seigneur, “monsieur” was thus originally the same as “monseigneur”.[2][7][1] The compound became a single word as “mon” weakened to “me-” and the final /r/ of “sieur” ceased to be pronounced, Wiktionary notes that “monsieur” and “gars” are relics of the loss of final /r/ in early modern French.[2][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in 1297 as monsor, a title of deference given to a man of rather high condition.[3][2]

Semantic evolution

At first equivalent to monseigneur and messire, monsieur was a title for nobles and princes and for men of high non-noble condition, then for saints, bishops and figures of antiquity.[2] From the 15th to the 18th century it named the princes of the royal family, and, from 1670 Monsieur alone was the king's eldest brother.[2][3] About 1480 it became a polite title for any man, with a name of office (monsieur le Prévôt, about 1515) or ironically (monsieur le sage, 1552).[3]

From 1532 it was what servants called the master of the house, and in 1588 it meant “husband”, messieurs named the members of the Parlement (1532).[2][3] Faire le monsieur “to act the important man” dates from the late 16th century, and un monsieur came to mean simply a man of the middle class.[2][3] English has used monsieur since the 1510s.[8]

Timeline

  • 1297 – Monsor as a title of deference.[3]
  • c. 1480 – A polite title for any man.[3]
  • 1532 – “Master of the house”, and messieurs “members of the Parlement”.[3][2]
  • 1510s – First use in English.[8]
  • 1588 – “Husband”.[2]
  • 1592 – Faire le monsieur.[3]
  • 1670 – Monsieur, the king's eldest brother.[2]
  • 1866 – Monsieur de Paris “the executioner”.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Monsieur (abbreviated M.): Mr, before a man's name or title: Monsieur Durand, monsieur le Ministre.[9][1]
  2. Sir, in address: Bonjour, monsieur, Mesdames et messieurs.[9][1]
  3. A gentleman, a man: un monsieur vous attend.[1][3]
  4. (history) Monsieur: the eldest brother of the King of France.[2][3]
  5. (dated) The master of the house.[2][3]
  6. Faire le monsieur: to act the gentleman, put on airs.[3][2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p 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
  4. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 11, 456a
  7. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  8. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  9. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
Cite this entry

“Monsieur.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/monsieur. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

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