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pairie

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Etymology and origin of the French word pairie

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1259 Ménestrel de Reims More words from the 13th century
Ultimate origin
Latin pār
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin pār
French pair
French pairie
Italian paio
Italian pari
Spanish par
Dutch paar
English par
Romanian par
From the same root
English umpire ← pār
Latin compār ← pār
Latin dispār ← pār
Latin impār ← pār
Latin paritās ← pār
Latin pariter ← pār

Pronunciation

Forms

pairie f (plural pairies)[1] Older spellings: perie (1259), perrie (1291), parrye (about 1460).[2][3]

Etymology

It is formed from French pair + -ie, the noun being used in its feudal sense of a lord of equal rank.[2][1][4][5] The Old French form was per until the 15th century, and it goes back to Latin pār (“equal”).[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record, as perie in the Ménestrel de Reims (1259), seems to name a kind of feudal tenure.[2][4][3]

Semantic evolution

By 1291 duché-perrie was a duchy to which the dignity of peer was attached.[2][4] The word then meant the dignity itself of a pair (Chastellain, about 1460) and, by metonymy, the domain or fief carrying it (late 15th century, and in Ragueau in 1583).[3][4] Under the Restoration and the July Monarchy (1814–1848) it was the dignity of a member of the upper chamber, and also the body of peers; the pairie héréditaire was abolished in 1831.[2] It is also used of the British peerage.[6][7]

Timeline

  • 1259 – Perie appears in the Ménestrel de Reims.[2][4]
  • 1291 – Duché-perrie is recorded in a document from Reims.[2][4]
  • c. 1460 – Chastellain uses parrye for the dignity of peer.[3][8]
  • 1583 – Ragueau records the sense “fief carrying the dignity”.[3]
  • 1831 – The hereditary peerage of France is abolished.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (history) Under the old monarchy, the dignity of a pair of France, attached to a great fief held directly of the crown: pairie héréditaire.[2][9][6]
  2. (history) The fief or domain to which that dignity was attached: duché-pairie, comté-pairie.[6][3]
  3. (history) From 1814 to 1848, the dignity of a member of the upper chamber; also the peers as a body.[2]
  4. In Britain, the peerage: pairie personnelle, a peerage for life.[6][3]

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 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 Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  4. ^ a b c d e f Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  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 Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  7. ^ Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
  8. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  9. ^ Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
Cite this entry

“Pairie.” Etymologically, 15 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/pairie. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

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