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pénétrer

Etymology and origin of the French word pénétrer

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1314, Henri de Mondeville, Chirurgie
Borrowed from
Latin penetro
Ultimate origin
Latin (penus)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /pe.ne.tʁe/[1]

Forms

pénétrer[1] The Académie wrote penetrer in 1694 and 1718, pénétrer from 1762.[2]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin penetrō (“to put inside; to enter, penetrate”),[2][3][4][5] from penitus (“deep inside, from within”), itself from penus (“provisions; the inner part of the house”), where the provisions were kept;[2][3] compare pénates.[3][6]

Compare Old Occitan penetrar, Spanish penetrar and Italian penetrare.[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Henri de Mondeville's Chirurgie (1314) speaks of wounds qui penetrent duc à la concavité du pis, “which go deep into the hollow of the chest”.[2][6]

Semantic evolution

First said of a material thing entering deeply, it was used of persons entering a place from 1636 (Monet), and figuratively of being admitted into a social circle (Balzac, before 1850).[3][7] In Middle French it took figurative senses: of an emotion entering someone's mind, “to touch, move”, and “to come to understand” (about 1485, Mystère du Viel Testament).[2][3] Se pénétrer de “to become imbued with, convinced of” is later (1843).[3]

The present participle pénétrant (1314) often qualifies the mind (esprit pénétrant, 1666), and as a feminine noun a pénétrante is a major road into a region, first a military term (1953).[3][2] pénétration and pénétrable (1370, Oresme) were borrowed from Latin.[8]

Timeline

  • 1314 – “To enter into”, in Henri de Mondeville.[2]
  • 1370 – Pénétrable and pénétration, in Oresme.[8]
  • c. 1485 – “To move”;[2] “to understand”.[2]
  • 1636 – Of persons entering a place (Monet).[7]
  • 1666 – Esprit pénétrant.[2]
  • 1843 – Se pénétrer de.[3]
  • 1953 – Pénétrante, a military road.[2]

Meanings

Verb

  1. (intransitive) Of a thing, to penetrate, to pass deeply into: liquide qui pénètre à travers une membrane.[9][1]
  2. (intransitive) To enter (a place): pénétrer dans une maison, pénétrer par effraction, to break in.[9][1]
  3. (transitive) To permeate, soak through; of a feeling, to touch deeply.[2][3]
  4. (transitive) To fathom, see through (a mystery, someone's intentions).[1][2]
  5. Se pénétrer de: to become imbued with, convinced of.[3]
  6. (transitive) To penetrate sexually.[1][3]

Word family

  • pénétrant
  • pénétrance
  • pénétration
  • pénétrable
  • impénétrable
  • pénates

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f 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 h i j k Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ 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. 8, 187a
  6. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  7. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  8. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  9. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Pénétrer.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/p%C3%A9n%C3%A9trer. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

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