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Etymology and origin of the French word profil

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1621 Étienne Binet, Essay des Merveilles de Nature More words from the 17th century
Borrowed from
Italian profilo
Ultimate origin
Latin fīlum
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
French profil
Romanian profil

Pronunciation

Forms

profil m (plural profils)[1] Older French pourfil “outline drawing of a face” (16th–17th centuries), from Old French porfil “border”.[2][3]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Italian profilo (“side view of a face”), recorded in Italian from the 15th century, borrowed in 1621.[2][4][3][5] The Italian noun is a deverbal of profilare (“to draw in outline, to hem”), formed from pro- and filare (“to spin”), from Latin fīlum (“thread”).[4][2][6] The Grand Robert and the Petit Robert date the borrowing to 1636.[7][8]

It replaced the native pourfil, a specialised use of Old French porfil (“border”) (12th century), compounded of por (the old form of pour) and fil.[2][4][3] The derived verb porfiler (“to hem, embroider”) was likewise ousted by profiler.[4][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its first record, in 1621, is the phrase peindre de profil “to paint in profile”, with the Italian sense “a face seen from the side”.[2][4]

Semantic evolution

Profil perdu, a face seen from the side and slightly from behind, is an art term recorded in Delacroix in 1822.[2][4] By analogy the word was used in 1676 for a drawing of a building cut vertically to show its inside, and later for the outline of an architectural moulding (1755), a geological section (1869), the section of any object, a road or a railway (1875) and, in hydrology, the slope of a river bed (1886).[2][4]

In the 20th century it passed into psychology for the characteristic traits of a person or a group of people (1925, Claparède), and especially for the qualities needed for a job.[2][4] From 1955 it is also used of the characteristics of a class of things.[2][4] Under the influence of English profile its uses widened, and profil bas (from English low profile, 1970) gave faire profil bas “to keep a low profile”.[4][8] English profile was itself taken from Italian in the 1650s.[6]

Timeline

  • 12th century – Old French porfil “border”.[4][3]
  • 1621 – Peindre de profil is recorded.[2]
  • 1676 – Félibien uses it for a vertical section of a building.[2]
  • 1755 – D'Aviler uses it for the contour of a base or cornice.[2]
  • 1822 – Delacroix writes of a face seen de profil presque perdu.[2]
  • 1869 – Littré records the geological sense.[2]
  • 1875 – The Larousse records the section of any object and profil en long.[2]
  • 1925 – Claparède writes of a profil psychologique.[2][4]
  • 1967 – It is used for the qualities needed for a post.[2]
  • 1970 – Profil bas is formed after English low profile.[8]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The outline of a face seen from the side, a profile: de profil, Elle a un profil de médaille.[8][2]
  2. Profil perdu: a face seen from the side and partly from behind, mostly hidden by the back of the head.[8][9]
  3. The outline of a thing seen from one side.[9][2]
  4. (architecture, engineering) A vertical section of a building, moulding, road or object: profil en long, profil en travers.[2][4]
  5. The set of characteristic traits of a person or group, especially those required for a post: Ce candidat n'a pas le bon profil.[2][4]
  6. Profil bas: a discreet, cautious attitude: faire profil bas.[4][8]

Word family

  • profiler

References

  1. ^ a b 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 Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 3, 539a
  6. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  7. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  8. ^ a b c d e f Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  9. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Profil.” Etymologically, 15 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/profil. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

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