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Etymology and origin of the French word question

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1119, Philippe de Thaon, Comput (questiun)
Borrowed from
Latin quaestio
Ultimate origin
Latin (quaerō)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin quaero
Latin quaestio
English question
French question

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /kɛs.tjɔ̃/[1]

Forms

question f (plural questions)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin quaestiō (“search, inquiry; examination under torture”), from “quaesitum”, the supine of quaerō (“to seek, ask”), whence quérir.[2][3][4][5][1] In Latin the word meant search in general, then in law an inquiry, an interrogation and especially an inquiry by torture, and in philosophy a discussion, translating Ancient Greek ζήτησις (zḗtēsis).[3]

Wiktionary notes that, as a learned word, it kept the “s” before a consonant, unlike the related quête.[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

In 1119 Philippe de Thaon's Comput uses questiun for a point imperfectly known that must be examined or discussed.[2] About 1160 the Roman d'Eneas has it as a request made to someone to learn something.[2][6]

Semantic evolution

French did not take over the general Latin sense “search”, left to quête and recherche.[3] About 1190 a question was a matter for debate, whence mettre en question (1541), remettre en question (1842), il est question de (1690) and pas question ! (20th century).[3][6]

From 1321, and until the end of the Ancien Régime, la question was judicial torture (donner la question, 1690); this sense now survives only in history.[2][3] Later specialisations include exam questions (1869) and parliamentary questions (question de confiance).[3] The verb questionner dates from the 13th century and questionnaire from 1533.[3][4]

Timeline

  • 1119 – Questiun, a matter to be examined, in Philippe de Thaon.[2]
  • c. 1160 – A question asked, in Eneas.[2]
  • c. 1190 – A matter for debate, in Guernes de Pont-Sainte-Maxence.[6]
  • 1321 – La question, judicial torture.[2]
  • 1541 – Mettre en question in Calvin.[3]
  • 1694 – En question “in point”.[3]
  • 1869 – An exam question.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A question: a request for information: poser une question.[7][1]
  2. An issue, matter, problem: la question du chômage, une question d'argent.[8][1]
  3. En question: in question, il est question de: there is talk of.[3]
  4. Mettre en question, remettre en question: to call into question.[3]
  5. (historical) Judicial torture: soumettre à la question.[2][1]

Word family

  • questionnaire
  • questionner
  • quérir
  • quête

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h 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 j k l 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. 2, 1410b
  6. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  7. ^ Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  8. ^ Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Question.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/question. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

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