Etymologically
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perdre

Etymology and origin of the French word perdre

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
late 9th century, Sequence of Saint Eulalia
Inherited from
Latin perdo via Old French
Ultimate origin
Latin (perdō)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /pɛʁdʁ/[1]

Forms

perdre[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French perdre, inherited from Latin perdō (“to destroy, ruin; to waste; to lose”),[2][3][4][5] formed from per- (“thoroughly”) and dō (“to give”), so properly “to give away to no purpose”.[3][6][7] The Grand Robert notes that French kept both the active and the passive senses of the Latin verb, “to ruin” and “to be deprived of”.[8]

Cognate with Romanian pierde, Italian perdere, Occitan perdre, Catalan perdre, Spanish perder and Portuguese perder.[6][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Sequence of Saint Eulalia (late 9th century) has qu'elle perdesse sa virginitet “that she should lose her virginity”, the sense “to be deprived of part of oneself or of a quality”.[2][7]

Semantic evolution

The Latin sense “to corrupt, pervert (someone)” is found about 980, and later in perdre son âme (1190).[2][3] By about 1100 the Chanson de Roland has perdre le sens “to lose one's mind” and the sense “to waste”;[2][3] perdre son temps dates from about 1200.[2] To lose someone by death is recorded about 1050 (Saint Alexis), and to lose at play or in business from the 12th–13th centuries (perdant, 1288).[2][3]

The reflexive se perdre meant “to ruin oneself” (Marie de France) before “to lose one's way” (13th century) and “to be bewildered” (Rabelais, 1546, je m'y perds, 1698).[2][3] Perdre de vue is in Estienne (1538).[2] Many familiar phrases followed: perdre la tête (1762), perdre la boule (1829) and perdre le nord (1867).[9] Intransitively, a container perd when it leaks (1797).[2][10]

Timeline

  • Late 9th century – Perdesse in the Sequence of Saint Eulalia.[2]
  • c. 980 – “To corrupt” in the Jonas fragment.[2]
  • c. 1050 – To lose someone by death, in Saint Alexis.[2]
  • c. 1100 – Perdre le sens in the Chanson de Roland.[2]
  • c. 1200 – Perdre son temps.[2]
  • 1538 – Perdre de vue.[2]
  • 1546 – Se perdre “to be at a loss”, in Rabelais.[2]
  • 1829 – Perdre la boule.[9]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To lose: to cease to have (something, a quality, a faculty): perdre son emploi, perdre patience.[11][6]
  2. To lose (someone) through death or separation.[2][7]
  3. To be unable to find, perdre de vue: to lose sight of.[1][2]
  4. To lose (a game, a battle, a lawsuit): perdre au jeu.[1][10]
  5. To waste: perdre son temps.[1][3]
  6. (literary) To ruin, bring about the downfall of.[2][9]
  7. (intransitive) Of a container, to leak.[10][2]
  8. (reflexive) To get lost; to disappear, je m'y perds: I can't make head or tail of it.[1][3]

Word family

  • perdable
  • perdant
  • perte
  • éperdu
  • reperdre
  • perdu
  • imperdable
  • perdition
  • éperdre
  • déperdition
  • Latin perdō

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 n o p q r s t 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 8, 221b
  6. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  7. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  8. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  9. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  10. ^ a b c Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
  11. ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Perdre.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/perdre. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·