Etymologically
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remplir

Etymology and origin of the French word remplir

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 1130, Roman d'Eneas (raanpliz)
Ultimate origin
Latin (impleō)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ʁɑ̃.pliʁ/[1]

Forms

remplir[1] Old French raemplir, from an older aemplir, remplir absorbed it.[2][3]

Etymology

It is formed from French re- + emplir.[2][4][5][1][6][7] Medieval French usually had “raemplir”, a compound of an older “aemplir”, which “remplir” finally absorbed.[2][3] “Emplir” comes from a Vulgar Latin “*implire”, for classical Latin impleō (“to fill”).[3][1] In most Gallo-Romance dialects “remplir” has displaced “emplir”.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The participle raanpliz is in the Roman d'Eneas (about 1130), of a castle well stocked with food; the sermons of Saint Gregory on Ezekiel (late 12th century) have “to make full”.[4][8][2]

Semantic evolution

Refilling something emptied is in the Roman de Renart (late 13th century): Renart le remple “Renart fills it again”.[2][6] About 1350 one could remplir le cœur de a feeling, and rempli de soi-même “full of oneself” is in La Rochefoucauld (1678); remplir son sac “to get rich” dates from about 1465.[2]

Charles d'Orléans (1414) uses it for crowding a place, Robert Estienne (1549) for filling time, and Vaugelas (1647) for holding a post or office.[2][8] Corneille (1651) has remplir un nom, to live up to it, and Furetière (1690) remplir un blanc; filling in a form is a later use.[2][1]

Timeline

  • c. 1130 – Raanpliz, Roman d'Eneas.[8]
  • late 12th century – “To make full”.[2]
  • c. 1350 – Remplir le cœur de.[2]
  • 1414 – To fill a place, Charles d'Orléans.[2]
  • 1647 – To hold an office, Vaugelas.[2][8]
  • 1690 – Remplir un blanc, Furetière.[2]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To fill: remplir un verre, une casserole d'eau, se remplir, to fill up: la salle se remplit.[9][1]
  2. To fill (with a feeling): remplir qqn de joie.[9][2]
  3. To fill in, complete: remplir un formulaire, un chèque.[1][2]
  4. To fulfil, carry out: remplir ses obligations, remplir une fonction.[1][8]
  5. To occupy, take up (space or time).[2]

Word family

  • remplissage
  • rempli

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h 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 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 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. ^ Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  6. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  7. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 4, 592a
  8. ^ a b c d e Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
  9. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
Cite this entry

“Remplir.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/remplir. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

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