Etymologically
Log in

montre

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 18 October 2026 at 13:59. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /mɔ̃tʁ/[1]

Forms

montre f (plural montres)[1] Old French mostre, monstre;[2][3][4] monstre in the Académie dictionary of 1694, montre from 1740.[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is a deverbal noun from French montrer.[4][2][5][1][6] The verb, first mostrer, continues the popular form Vulgar Latin mostrō, beside written mōnstrō (“to show”), from mōnstrum (see monstre); the ⟨n⟩ was restored after the Latin.[7][5] The sense “watch” is a specialization of the older “thing that shows”: the dial that showed the hours was called by this name, which passed to the portable clock.[1][6][2]

Compare Italian mostra, Spanish muestra and Old Occitan mostra, which had the sense “clock dial” before 1450.[6][2][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Oxford Psalter (about 1120) has monstres for the wonders of the Lord; about 1210 the Dolopathos has mostre in the sense “example, model”.[3][6][4][7]

Semantic evolution

In commerce it was the part of the goods shown to judge the rest, a sample (1350), and by metonymy the cup for tasting wine (1397); it named a fair (1267), a warehouse (1530) and the glass case where goods were displayed (1611), whence en montre “in the window”.[4][7] In the army it was a review of troops (1376) and the soldiers' pay (1570).[4][7] The abstract sense, the act of showing oneself (about 1278), lives on in faire montre de “to display” (1549).[7][8]

From the dial of a clock (1474) it came to mean a portable timepiece (monstre d'horloge, 1529–1531, monstre, 1537, montre, 1595).[7][2][3] Phrases include montre à répétition (1694), montre de poche (1690), montre-bracelet (1922), montre en main “exactly timed” (1826) and the cyclists' course contre la montre “time trial” (about 1930).[7][3]

Timeline

  • c. 1120 – Monstre, in the Oxford Psalter.[3][2]
  • c. 1210 – Mostre “example, model”.[4]
  • 1267 – A fair.[4]
  • 1350 – A sample of goods.[4]
  • 1376 – A review of troops.[4]
  • 1474 – The dial of a clock.[2][7]
  • 1549 – Faire montre de.[7]
  • 1595 – Montre “watch”.[2]
  • 1922 – Montre-bracelet.[7]
  • c. 1930 – Course contre la montre.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A watch, wristwatch: regarder sa montre, montre de poche.[8][1]
  2. Contre la montre: against the clock, course contre la montre, a time trial, montre en main, exactly timed.[3][7]
  3. Faire montre de: to show, display: faire montre de son talent.[8][7]
  4. (dated) A display, a showcase, en montre, in the window.[1][7]
  5. (literary) Show, ostentation: pour la montre, for appearances.[8]

Word family

  • bracelet-montre
  • montre-bracelet

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j 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
  5. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  6. ^ a b c d Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  8. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert