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remercier

Etymology and origin of the French word remercier

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
first half of the 13th century, Guillaume de Palerne
Ultimate origin
Latin (mercēs)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ʁə.mɛʁ.sje/[1]

Forms

remercier[1]

Etymology

It is from French re- + mercier, from Old French mercier (“to thank”) (“Chanson de Roland”, about 1100), from merci.[2][3][4][5][6] “Merci” is from Latin mercēs (“wages; price; favour”).[3] “Mercier” remained in use until the 16th or 17th century.[7][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Guillaume de Palerne (first half of the 13th century) uses it for giving thanks, expressing gratitude; the Grand Robert dates it to about 1174 (Étienne de Fougères).[2][4][5]

Semantic evolution

Littré thought remercier became common only around the 15th century, and Bloch and Wartburg's first example is from Froissart.[7][3] In the 17th century it took on ironic and polite extended senses: to repay badly (Racine, Les Plaideurs, 1668), to dismiss someone from a post (Bossuet, 1687), and to decline something politely (Furetière, 1690); se remercier de “to congratulate oneself” is in Retz.[2][5]

Timeline

  • c. 1100 – The simple verb mercier, Chanson de Roland.[2]
  • first half of the 13th century – Remercier, Guillaume de Palerne.[2]
  • 15th century – The derivative remerciement.[3]
  • 1668 – Ironic “to repay badly”, Racine.[2]
  • 1687 – “To dismiss”, Bossuet.[2]
  • 1690 – “To decline politely”, Furetière.[2]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To thank: je vous remercie de votre aide, remercier pour un cadeau.[8][1]
  2. To decline politely: je vous remercie, no thank you.[2][5]
  3. (euphemistic) To dismiss, let go (an employee).[1][2]

Word family

  • remerciement

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 6/2, 17a
  7. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  8. ^ Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
Cite this entry

“Remercier.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/remercier. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

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