Etymologically
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produire

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 18 October 2026 at 13:09. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /pʁɔ.dɥiʁ/[1]

Forms

produire[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin prōdūcō (“to lead forward; to bring out; to cause; to extend; to rear”), remade on the model of verbs such as conduire.[2][3][4][5][1] The Latin verb is formed from prō- (“forward”) and dūcō (“to lead”), which gave Old French duire.[3][6] For the sense “to cause”, the TLFi points also to the Medieval Latin phrase effectum producere (1350).[2]

Cognate with Old Occitan produire, Catalan produir, Spanish producir and Italian producere.[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

It first appears in law (1340, a Lille charter in the Livre Roisin) for “to present a document, a supporting paper”.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

From law it took the general sense “to present, make known” (about 1465), now almost out of use except for presenting an artist, and se produire “to show oneself” (Montaigne, 1580), still said of a performer appearing in public (1748).[2][3] Middle French briefly took back the Latin sense “to lead” (about 1380).[3]

In Oresme (about 1375–77) it means “to cause, bring about” and “to create a work”.[2][3] Later centuries specialized this: of the earth or a plant, “to bear, yield” (1486); of a living being, “to beget” (1549, now obsolete); of a maker, “to manufacture” (Ronsard, 1555); of a thing, “to bring in an income” (1690).[2][3] Se produire “to happen” is in Ronsard (1552), with an impersonal use in Diderot (1784).[2] In 1906 it is used of films.[2]

Timeline

  • 1340 – Legal sense “to present a document”.[2]
  • c. 1375 – “To cause”, Oresme.[2]
  • 1442 – producteur.[4]
  • 1486 – “To yield”, Jean Molinet.[2]
  • 1552 – Se produire “to happen”, Ronsard.[2]
  • 1555 – “To manufacture”, Ronsard.[2]
  • 1580 – Se produire “to show oneself”, Montaigne.[2]
  • 1906 – Film production.[2]

Meanings

Verb

  1. (law, administration) To present, show: produire un certificat, des témoins.[7]
  2. To produce, bring into being; to yield.[7][1][2]
  3. To make, manufacture.[7][2]
  4. To create a work.[2][7]
  5. To cause, bring about.[2][7]
  6. To bring in, yield an income.[2][3]
  7. (cinema, broadcasting) To finance a film or programme.[2][7]
  8. Se produire: to happen, occur; of an artist, to perform, appear in public.[1][3]

Word family

  • produit
  • producteur
  • productif
  • production
  • productivité
  • reproduire
  • surproduction

References

  1. ^ a b c d e 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 u 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 Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  5. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  7. ^ a b c d e f Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert