Etymologically
Log in

ressentir

Etymology and origin of the French word ressentir

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
late 12th century, Béroul, Tristan (resentir)
Ultimate origin
Latin (sentiō)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin sentio
French sentir
French sentiment
French ressentir
Latin sensus
French sens

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ʁə.sɑ̃.tiʁ/[1]
  • IPA: /sə ʁsɑ̃.tiʁ/[1]

Forms

ressentir[1]

Etymology

It is formed from French re- + sentir.[2][3][4][1][5] “Sentir” comes from Latin sentiō (“to feel, perceive”).[6]

Compare Old Occitan resentir, Spanish resentir and Italian risentire.[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

In Béroul's Tristan (late 12th century) it means to feel in sympathy what another feels: l'un por l'autre resent mal “each feels pain for the other”.[2] The Grand Robert and the GLLF cite soi resentir “to feel oneself again”, on coming to, in a miracle of Saint Thomas (about 1190).[3][4][2]

Semantic evolution

Jean de Meun (1268–1278) uses it for feeling the painful effect of an outside cause; in the Middle Ages it also meant to smell, or to smell of: les aux rescent le mortier “the mortar smells of garlic” (13th century).[2][3] Montaigne (1580) has it for being aware of a feeling, ressenti un singulier contentement de la victoire.[2][7]

In the 16th and 17th centuries it also meant to resent an injury and wish to avenge it, as in Amyot's te ressentir des dommages, the sense kept by ressentiment (1580); to feel gratitude for a favour (1633); and, of a thing, to show the marks of something: Thevet (1554) says the language of Malta ressentoit encore le vieil langage de Carthage.[7][2][6]

Timeline

  • late 12th century – “To feel in sympathy”, Béroul.[2]
  • c. 1190 – Soi resentir “to feel oneself again”.[3][4]
  • 13th century – “To smell of”.[2]
  • 1268–1278 – To feel a painful effect, Jean de Meun.[2]
  • 1554 – “To bear the marks of”, Thevet.[2]
  • 1580 – To feel an emotion, Montaigne.[2]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To feel (a sensation or emotion), often keenly: ressentir une douleur, ressentir de la colère.[8][1][4]
  2. To be affected by, feel the effect of: ressentir un outrage.[8]
  3. Se ressentir de: to suffer from the effects of, show the marks of: il se ressent de sa chute.[1][2]

Word family

  • ressentiment

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, 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. 11, 468a
  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 c 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
Cite this entry

“Ressentir.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/ressentir. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·