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pécheur

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Etymology and origin of the French word pécheur

Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
c. 980 Passion More words from the 10th century
Inherited from
Latin peccator via Old French
Ultimate origin
Latin peccō

Pronunciation

Forms

pécheur (feminine pécheresse or pècheresse, masculine plural pécheurs, feminine plural pécheresses or pècheresses)[1] Old French pechedor (late 10th century), pecheür, pecheor; the subject case was pechiere, and the old feminine pecheriz was replaced by pécheresse.[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French pecheor, inherited from Ecclesiastical Latin peccātor (“sinner”), formed on peccō (“to sin”).[2][5][6][1] Old French had the subject case pechiere, from the Latin nominative, beside the oblique case, from the accusative.[4][5] The feminine pecheriz (about 1145) came from Ecclesiastical Latin peccātrīx; it gave way to pécheresse (about 1190), formed on the subject case with the suffix -esse.[2][3]

Cognate with Italian peccatore, Spanish pecador and Old Occitan peccador.[4] Southern dialects keep the old nominative as the exclamation Occitan pecaire “alas!”, which is also used in local French.[5][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found as pechedors, the oblique plural, in the Passion of the late 10th century, meaning sinners.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

The word has kept its religious sense, a person who commits sins or lives in a state of sin.[3][2] At the end of the 12th century it entered the phrase Dieu ne veut pas la mort du pécheur, from Ezekiel 33:11, found in Béroul's Tristan;[2][3] the phrase also came to mean that one should not be merciless.[4][7] Pecheriz was both an adjective and a noun from about 1145, and pécheresse has been both since about 1190.[2]

Littré records familiar vieux pécheur “old rake” and pécheresse as a euphemism for a woman of loose life;[4] Mary Magdalene is la pécheresse.[7]

Timeline

  • c. 980 – Pechedors in the Passion.[6][2]
  • 1119 – Pecheürs in Philippe de Thaon's Comput.[2]
  • c. 1145 – The feminine pecheriz in Wace.[2]
  • c. 1190 – Pecheresse in Herman de Valenciennes.[2]
  • Late 12th century – Dieu ne veut pas la mort du pécheur in Béroul's Tristan.[2][3]
  • 14th century – The modern form pécheur.[6][7]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (religion) A sinner: a person who commits sins or is in a state of sin: un pécheur repentant.[7][2]
  2. Dieu ne veut pas la mort du pécheur: one should be lenient.[7][4]
  3. (familiar, dated) Vieux pécheur: an old rake.[4]

Adjective

  1. Sinning, sinful.[1][4]

Usage notes

Pécheur “sinner” is pronounced like pêcheur “fisherman”, which comes from Latin piscātor.[7][5]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m 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 f g h Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  5. ^ a b c d Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  6. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  7. ^ a b c d e f Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Pécheur.” Etymologically, 14 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/p%C3%A9cheur. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

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