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mutant

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Etymology and origin of the French word mutant

Confidence
Probable
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1909 Larousse mensuel More words from the 20th century
Ultimate origin
Latin mūtō

Pronunciation

Forms

mutant (feminine mutante, masculine plural mutants, feminine plural mutantes)[1]

Etymology

Used as an adjective and noun, it is the present participle from French muter (“to mutate”), taken up in the life sciences after mutation.[2][3][4] It matches the English noun mutant (1901) and the German Mutante, both learned formations on Latin mūtāns (“changing”), from mūtō (“to change”).[2][3] The Grand Robert and the Petit Robert instead take it from the German or the English word.[5][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded as an adjective in 1909, in the Larousse mensuel, and as a noun in 1931.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

The GLLF dates the adjective to 1931 and the noun and gènes mutants to 1959.[4] The word did especially well in science fiction, for supposedly parahuman or superhuman beings and for animal species changed in spectacular ways.[3][6]

Timeline

  • 1901 – The English noun mutant is recorded.[2][3]
  • 1909 – First record of the French adjective.[2][3]
  • 1931 – First used as a noun.[2][3]
  • 1959 – The Robert records gènes mutants.[4]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. (biology) That has undergone a mutation: gène mutant.[6][7][4]

Noun

  1. (biology) An organism one or more of whose hereditary characters differ from those of its parents.[6][4]
  2. (science fiction) A being resulting from a mutation of the human species.[7][6]

References

  1. ^ a b 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 g Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c d e Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  5. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  7. ^ a b Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
Cite this entry

“Mutant.” Etymologically, 15 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/mutant. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·