Etymologically
Log in

nuance

History Permalink

Etymology and origin of the French word nuance

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1380 Inventaire du mobilier de Charles V More words from the 14th century
Ultimate origin
Latin nūbēs
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
French nue
French nuance
English nuance
From the same root
French nuage ← nue

Pronunciation

Forms

nuance f (plural nuances)[1]

Etymology

It is formed from French nuer + -ance.[2][3][4][1] This verb, “to match colours, shade them into one another”, now obsolete, is from French nue (“cloud”), perhaps through the adjective nué “shading off in colour” (about 1200);[5] the comparison was with the changing colours and reflections of clouds.[6][7] Rey dates the verb from 1356, while Bloch and Wartburg record it only from the end of the 16th century, in d'Aubigné.[5][6]

The noun goes back to Vulgar Latin *nūba, from Latin nūbēs (“cloud”),[6][7] the etymon under which the FEW lists the word.[8][9] Picoche places the Latin word in the family of an Indo-European root Proto-Indo-European *sneudh- (“to cover”).[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in 1380, in the inventory of the furniture of Charles V, meaning one of the degrees through which a colour can pass, a shade: une autre croix d'or toute pareille de façon et de pierrerie sans nuance “another gold cross just like it in workmanship and stones, without nuance”.[2][9]

Semantic evolution

The word first belonged to the vocabulary of colour, beside the verb nuer, which was used in ornament and embroidery for arranging colours harmoniously.[5] In the 17th and 18th centuries it took figurative senses: a delicate shade in language and an intermediate state through which something passes (1668, Méré), a perceptible difference between things of the same kind (1740, recorded by the Académie), and something added that slightly alters the essential, une nuance de (1751, Duclos).[2][5] In the 19th century it became a term of music, for the degrees of loudness and softness given to sounds (1849, Fétis).[2][5]

Nuance outlived its base: nuer grew old and disappeared, and the derived verb nuancer (1680) took its place in ordinary use.[5] English borrowed the word in 1781, for a slight difference in expression, feeling or opinion.[10]

Timeline

  • 1380 – Nuance appears in the inventory of the furniture of Charles V, of a shade of colour.[2][9]
  • 1668 – Méré uses it of an intermediate state and of shades in language.[2][5]
  • 1680 – The verb nuancer is recorded.[5]
  • 1740 – The Académie records the sense “perceptible difference between things of the same kind”.[2]
  • 1751 – Duclos writes nuance de for a slight touch added to something.[2][5]
  • 1781 – English borrows nuance.[10]
  • 1849 – Fétis uses it as a term of music.[2][5]
  • 1953 – The derivative nuancier “colour chart” is recorded.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Each of the degrees through which one colour can pass, a shade or tint: toutes les nuances du vert.[4][11][12]
  2. An intermediate state or degree, a subtle difference between things of the same kind: une analyse tout en nuances; used alone, Nuance ! means “there is a difference”.[4][11]
  3. A slight touch of something that modifies the whole: une nuance de regret, of mockery.[2][11][12]
  4. (music) Each of the degrees of loudness or softness given to the sounds, the dynamics: jouer sans nuance.[11][12][13]
  5. (metallurgy) A grade of alloy defined by the range of its components.[12]

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k 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. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  7. ^ a b c Picoche, Jacqueline (1991), Dictionnaire étymologique du français, Paris: Le Robert (Les Usuels du Robert)
  8. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 7, 220a
  9. ^ a b c Dictionnaire du Moyen Français, version 2015 (DMF 2015), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/dmf
  10. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  11. ^ a b c d Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
  12. ^ a b c d Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
  13. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
Cite this entry

“Nuance.” Etymologically, 14 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/nuance. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·