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municipalité

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Etymology and origin of the French word municipalité

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1758 Marquis de Mirabeau, L'Ami des hommes More words from the 18th century
Ultimate origin
Latin mūniceps
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin mūnia
Latin mūniceps
Latin mūnicipālis
English municipal
French municipal
French municipalité
English municipality
From the same root
Latin mūnificus ← mūnia
Latin mūnicipium ← mūniceps
Spanish municipalidad ← mūnicipālis

Pronunciation

  • /my.ni.si.pa.li.te/[1]

Forms

municipalité f (plural municipalités)[1]

Etymology

It is formed from French municipal + -ité.[2][3][1] The adjective was borrowed in the 15th century from Latin mūnicipālis (“of a municipium”), from mūniceps (“citizen of a municipium”).[4][2][1] Rey counts it among the 18th-century derivatives that show the adjective spreading at that time.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first used in the 1750s by the Marquis de Mirabeau (L'Ami des hommes), for the body of people who administer a commune.[2][4][6] The TLFi and the DHLF date the passage to 1758, Bloch and Wartburg and the Grand Robert to 1756.[2][5][4][3]

Semantic evolution

In France the administration of the commune was set up by the decree of December 1789, which also imposed the word maire.[5] By metonymy municipalité came to mean the territory so administered (1791) and the building where the municipal officers met (1798), a sense later displaced by mairie.[2][5][7]

Usage differs between French-speaking countries: in Quebec municipalité is used where France says commune, and a municipalité régionale de comté is a grouping of municipalities.[5][8][9]

Timeline

  • 1756 – The Marquis de Mirabeau uses municipalité for the people who administer a commune, a date given by Bloch and Wartburg and the Grand Robert (the TLFi has 1758).[4][3][2]
  • 1791 – A dictionary of the Constitution uses it of any commune that elects its own officers.[2][5]
  • 1798 – The supplement to the Académie dictionary records it for the place where the municipal officers meet.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The municipal body: the people who administer a commune, in France the mayor, deputies and councillors.[8][10][2]
  2. The commune or town as an administered territory, a municipality.[8][9][7]
  3. (Canada) A territorial division run by a municipal council.[8]
  4. (dated) The seat of the municipal administration, the town hall.[8][7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c d Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  5. ^ a b c d e f Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  7. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  8. ^ a b c d e 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. ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
Cite this entry

“Municipalité.” Etymologically, 14 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/municipalit%C3%A9. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

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