Etymologically
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népotisme

Etymology and origin of the French word népotisme

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1653, Guez de Balzac, letter to Conrart
Borrowed from
Italian nepotismo
Ultimate origin
Latin (nepōs)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
French népotisme
English nepotism

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ne.pɔ.tism/[1]
  • IPA: /ne.pɔ.tizm/[1]

Forms

népotisme m (plural népotismes)[1] Written nepotisme by the Académie in 1694 and 1718, népotisme from 1740.[2]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Italian nepotismo, recorded in Italian only from 1672,[2][3][4][1][5] derived from nepote (“nephew”) (Bloch and Wartburg and the GLLF write “nipotismo”, “nipote”),[2][3][6][7] from Latin nepōs (“grandson; nephew”), the source of neveu.[4][8][9] English “nepotism” (17th century) was taken from French.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Guez de Balzac, in a letter to Conrart of 28 April 1653, says he would not exchange a friendship pour le Népotisme du Cardinal Pamphilio: the favour shown by popes to their nephews.[10][2][3]

Semantic evolution

A 1669 translation from Italian was titled Le népotisme de Rome, on the reasons that lead popes to enrich their nephews, and Bayle (1697) compares nepotism to a dying beast that bites hardest at the end.[10] Furetière (1690) records it as a term used in Italy of a living pope's nephews.[10]

By extension, from 1800, it is the favour shown by a person in office to relatives, friends and connections, now the usual sense.[2][3][11]

Timeline

  • 1653 – Papal favour to nephews (Guez de Balzac).[10][2]
  • 1669 – Le népotisme de Rome, a translation.[10]
  • 1672 – Italian nepotismo recorded.[2][3]
  • 1690 – First recorded in a dictionary (Furetière).[10]
  • 1800 – Favouritism towards relatives and friends.[2][3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Nepotism, the use of one's position to obtain jobs and favours for relatives and friends; favouritism.[11][12]
  2. (history) The favour shown by some popes to their nephews and relatives.[11][12]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 7, 95b
  6. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  7. ^ Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  8. ^ Académie française (1992–2024), Dictionnaire de l'Académie française, 9th ed., Paris: Académie française / Fayard / Imprimerie nationale
  9. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  10. ^ a b c d e f Steinfeld, Nadine; Buchi, Éva, eds. (2005–), TLF-Étym: révision des notices étymologiques du Trésor de la langue française informatisé, Nancy: ATILF
  11. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  12. ^ a b Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)

Borrowed into

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Népotisme.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/n%C3%A9potisme. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

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