Etymologically
Log in

plein

Etymology and origin of the French word plein

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
c. 1050, Vie de saint Alexis (plain)
Inherited from
Latin plenus via Old French
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European (*pl̥h₁nós)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin plenus
French plein
Latin plenitas

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /plɛ̃/[1]

Forms

plein (feminine pleine, masculine plural pleins, feminine plural pleines)[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French plein, inherited from Latin plēnus (“full”).[2][3][4][5][1] The Latin adjective is formed from “plēre” “to fill”, replaced by its compounds (see emplir), and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *pl̥h₁nós (“full”), the source also of English full and German voll.[3][1][6]

In French it clashed with plain “flat, level”, from Latin “plānus”, and the two were sometimes confused, as in “de plein fouet”.[3][7] Cognate with Romanian plin, Italian pieno, Catalan ple, Spanish lleno and Portuguese cheio.[6][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

About 1050 the Vie de saint Alexis uses it figuratively, “filled with” a feeling; about 1100 the Chanson de Roland has it in the literal sense, l'olifant plein d'or “the horn full of gold”, and of time, set anz tuz pleins “seven full years”.[2][3][7]

Semantic evolution

Early on it also meant “complete, at its height”: pleine lune (about 1160), plein pouvoir (about 1208), en plein midi (about 1225).[2][3] It was said of a person full of food (about 1220) or wine (1450), whence plein “drunk” (1640), and of a pregnant animal (13th century), absorbing Old French prainz.[3][4]

From the 16th century it meant “solid, dense” (1531) and, of writing, “rich in meaning” (Montaigne).[8][2] As a preposition, plein un sac is found in the early 12th century, and the familiar plein de “lots of” from 1903.[2] Plein aux as “rolling in money” dates from 1901.[2] As a noun, le plein is the full tide, the downstroke in writing (1690) and, from the 20th century, a full tank of petrol.[2][9]

Timeline

  • c. 1050 – Plain “filled with” in the Vie de saint Alexis.[2][10]
  • c. 1100 – Plein d'or in the Chanson de Roland.[2]
  • c. 1160 – Pleine lune in Eneas.[2]
  • c. 1208 – Plein pouvoir in Villehardouin.[2]
  • 1531 – “Solid, massive”.[8]
  • 1640 – Plein “drunk”.[2]
  • 1901 – Plein aux as.[2]
  • 1903 – Familiar plein de “lots of”.[2]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. full, filled: un verre plein, plein de monde.[6][1]
  2. Complete, entire: pleins pouvoirs, à plein temps.[2][3]
  3. In the middle of: en plein jour, en pleine mer.[1][2]
  4. Solid, not hollow: une porte pleine.[1][8]
  5. Of an animal, pregnant.[1][4]
  6. (familiar) drunk, plein aux as, very rich.[3][2]

Adverb

  1. (familiar) Plein de: lots of: il y avait plein de gens.[1][2]
  2. Tout plein: very, en plein: right in the middle.[2]

Noun

  1. Le plein: a full tank: faire le plein, battre son plein, to be in full swing.[9][11]
  2. A thick downstroke in handwriting.[9][2]

Word family

  • trop-plein
  • plénier
  • plénitude
  • emplir
  • remplir
  • Latin plēnus

Usage notes

Plein and plain (plain-pied, de plain-chant) are pronounced alike and were often confused, Littré held that de plein saut and similar phrases should be spelled plain.[3][7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j 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 i Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c 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. 9, 59a
  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. ^ a b c Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
  9. ^ a b c Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
  10. ^ Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  11. ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Plein.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/plein. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·