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naturellement

Etymology and origin of the French word naturellement

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 1130–1140, Wace, Vie de sainte Marguerite
Ultimate origin
Latin (nātūra)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin naturalis
French naturel
French naturellement

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /na.ty.ʁɛl.mɑ̃/[1]

Forms

naturellement[1] Old French naturalment, naturelment, naturaument;[2][3] naturellement from the 14th century.[2][3]

Etymology

It is from French naturel + -ment.[4][1][5][2] Compare Occitan naturalment, Spanish naturalmente and Italian naturalmente.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Wace's Vie de sainte Marguerite (about 1130–1140) uses naturalment for “according to the principles of nature”, of a child born sound and whole as it should be.[4]

Semantic evolution

About 1160 Eneas has it for “in keeping with the particular character of a thing”, and about 1216 Robert de Clari for “imitating nature exactly”.[4] The senses “spontaneously, without effort” and “by birth” appear in the Mistère du Viel Testament (about 1480).[4] Madame de Sévigné uses it in 1681 for “as is to be expected”, the origin of its common use as a sentence adverb, “of course”;[4][2][6] Larousse recorded it as an exclamatory reply in 1874.[4][2][6]

The Académie gave cheveux frisés naturellement in 1694 and naturellement parlant in 1798.[4]

Timeline

  • c. 1130–1140 – Naturalment, in Wace.[4]
  • c. 1160 – “In keeping with a thing's character”, in Eneas.[4]
  • c. 1216 – “Imitating nature”, in Robert de Clari.[4]
  • c. 1480 – “Spontaneously”, in the Mistère du Viel Testament.[4]
  • 1681 – “As is to be expected”, in Madame de Sévigné.[4]
  • 1874 – As a reply, “of course!”.[2]

Meanings

Adverb

  1. By nature, by the laws of nature: elle est naturellement blonde.[6][7]
  2. By natural impulse or temperament: il était naturellement courageux.[6][8]
  3. In a spontaneous, unaffected way; easily: il nous tutoie très naturellement.[6][8]
  4. By a logical sequence; inevitably.[6][7]
  5. (sentence adverb, familiar) Of course, naturally: naturellement, il a oublié.[7][6]

References

  1. ^ a b c 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 Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l 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. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  7. ^ a b c Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
  8. ^ a b Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
Cite this entry

“Naturellement.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/naturellement. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·