Etymologically
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résister

Etymology and origin of the French word résister

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1327, Reims archives
Borrowed from
Latin resisto
Ultimate origin
Latin (stō)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin resisto
English resist
French résister

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ʁe.zis.te/[1]

Forms

résister[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin resistō (“to stop; to stand facing; to resist”), from re- with intensive and opposing force and sistō (“to set; to stand firm”), a derivative of stō (“to stand”).[2][3][4][5] Bloch and Wartburg give a first, unclear record about 1240; the TLFi starts from a Reims document of 1327.[6][3][2] Littré remarks that the word was made in the 14th century without regard to the Latin accent.[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

A document of 1327 in the Reims archives uses it for opposing force to the use of force by an authority.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

About 1350 Gilles li Muisis uses it for resisting by war and for setting one's will against another's;[2][3] Oresme (1370) has it for rebelling against an authority.[2][3] The Ménagier de Paris (about 1393) uses it of a woman who resists advances, and Racine (1672) of struggling against one's own desires.[2][3]

Of things, the senses “not to give way under a force” and “not to deteriorate” are from the 16th century (Amyot, 1559), as is “to withstand hardship” of living beings.[3][4] Under the German occupation of 1940 it took the political sense of joining the Resistance.[2]

Timeline

  • c. 1240 – An unclear first record.[6]
  • 1327 – “To resist force”, in a Reims document.[2]
  • c. 1350 – Military resistance, in Gilles li Muisis.[2]
  • c. 1393 – Of resisting advances, in the Ménagier de Paris.[2]
  • 1559 – Of things that do not give way, in Amyot.[3][4]
  • 1940 – Resistance to the German occupation.[2]

Meanings

Verb

  1. Résister à: of things, to withstand, not to give way under: ces murailles épaisses ont résisté au séisme; not to be damaged by: un plat qui résiste au feu.[8][9]
  2. Of living beings, to hold out against: résister à la fatigue.[8]
  3. To resist, oppose by force: la ville a résisté pendant plusieurs mois.[7][10]
  4. To resist (a temptation, a desire); on ne peut lui résister, he or she is irresistible.[3][4]
  5. (history) To take part in the Resistance.[2][3]

Word family

  • résistance
  • résistant
  • irrésistible

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 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 10, 300b
  6. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  7. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  8. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  9. ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
  10. ^ Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Résister.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/r%C3%A9sister. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

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