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national

Etymology and origin of the French word national

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1534 (concille general ou nacionnal)
Ultimate origin
Latin (nāscor)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /na.sjɔ.nal/[1]

Forms

national (feminine nationale, masculine plural nationaux, feminine plural nationales)[1] Nacionnal (1534); national from 1550 (Meigret).[2][3]

Etymology

It is formed from French nation + -al.[4][3][2][5][1] That noun is from Latin nātiō (“birth, origin; people”), from nātus (“born”), the past participle of nāscor (“to be born”).[5][1] Wiktionary compares New Latin nātiōnālis.[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

A document of Besançon (1534) speaks of a concille general ou nacionnal “general or national council”; the GR and the Petit Robert note that it was first a term of church organization.[4][3][6]

Semantic evolution

Meigret (1550) uses it in grammar, and Montaigne contrasts natural justice with a justice speciale, nationale.[4][7] The word spread at the end of the 18th century.[6] In 1756 d'Argenson calls the Estates General an assemblée nationale, and on 17 June 1789 the deputies of the Third Estate proclaimed themselves the Assemblée nationale, La Fayette's garde nationale followed in July 1789.[4] Mirabeau (1789) uses it for what comes from and represents the nation: nous sommes ici par la volonté nationale.[4][2]

Voltaire (1769) has les nationaux for the citizens of a nation.[4] The route nationale is recorded in 1875, and la nationale as a noun in 1933.[4] Familiar French also uses it ironically for what a group adopts as its own: le chant national de la saison (1866, Veuillot).[4]

Timeline

  • 1534 – Concile nacionnal.[4]
  • 1550 – The form national, Meigret.[2]
  • 1756 – Assemblée nationale for the Estates General, d'Argenson.[4]
  • 1769 – Les nationaux, Voltaire.[4]
  • 1789 – Assemblée nationale (17 June) and garde nationale.[4]
  • 1875 – Route nationale.[4]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. national, of a nation: hymne national, fête nationale, territoire national.[6][1]
  2. Concerning the whole nation, as opposed to a region: l'Assemblée nationale, l'éducation nationale.[2][6]
  3. Representing the nation: la volonté nationale.[4][2]
  4. (familiar, ironic) Typical, adopted by a group as its own: le plat national.[4][6]

Noun

  1. (plural) Nationals, citizens of a country.[4][6]
  2. La nationale: a main road, route nationale.[4]

Word family

  • nationalement
  • nationaliser
  • nationalisation
  • nationalisme
  • nationaliste
  • nationalité
  • international

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  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 e f g h i j k l m n o p q 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 e f Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  7. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
Cite this entry

“National.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/national. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

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