Etymologically
Log in

saint

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 18 October 2026 at 09:14. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /sɛ̃/[1]
  • IPA: /sɛ̃.t‿/[1]
  • IPA (Quebec): /sẽ/[1]

Forms

saint m (plural saints, feminine sainte)[1] Old French sanz (about 980), sancz (late 10th century), saint (about 1050), seint.[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin sanctus (“made sacred, inviolable; holy”), the past participle of sanciō (“to make sacred; to ratify”) (see sanction).[4][2][5][6][7] In Christian Latin “sanctus” took on the sense of Ancient Greek ἅγιος (hágios, “holy”), itself a rendering of Biblical Hebrew קָדוֹשׁ (qādôš).[2]

Cognate with Italian santo, Spanish santo, Portuguese santo, Occitan sant, Catalan sant and Romanian sânt.[8][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Vie de saint Léger (second half of the 10th century) has sanct Lethgier, of a person admitted among the blessed; the Passion (late 10th century) has sanz spiritum, the Holy Spirit.[4][2]

Semantic evolution

By about 1050 (Vie de saint Alexis) it was used of a person leading an exemplary moral and religious life (saint home) and of the Holy Trinity; the Chanson de Roland (about 1100) has seint pareis “holy paradise” and la feste seint Michel, the saint's day.[4] Saints' days give names to festivals and popular dates: la Saint-Sylvestre (Balzac, 1833), la Saint-Nicolas, la tous sainz became Toussaint.[4][5]

A saint was also a statue of a saint (about 1280).[4] Phrases include ne savoir à quel saint se vouer and prêcher pour son saint “to have an axe to grind” (1823).[8][10]

Timeline

  • late 10th century – Sanct Lethgier, Vie de saint Léger.[4]
  • c. 1050 – Saint home, Vie de saint Alexis.[4]
  • c. 1100 – La feste seint Michel, Chanson de Roland.[4]
  • c. 1280 – A statue of a saint.[4]
  • 1823 – Prêcher pour son saint, Boiste.[10]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. holy, sacred: l'Écriture sainte, la semaine sainte, la Terre sainte.[8][1]
  2. Saint (before a name): saint Paul; in place names and festivals with a capital and hyphen: Saint-Denis, la Saint-Jean.[4][8]
  3. Saintly, godly: une sainte femme.[1][4]
  4. (familiar, intensive) Toute la sainte journée, the whole blessed day.[8]

Noun

  1. A saint, la fête d'un saint, ne savoir à quel saint se vouer, not to know where to turn.[8][1]
  2. A saintly person.[8]
  3. Le saint des saints: the holy of holies.[8]

Word family

  • sainteté
  • Toussaint
  • saintement
  • sacré
  • sanctifier
  • sanctuaire
  • sanction
  • Latin sanctus

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  3. ^ Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k 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
  5. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  6. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  7. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 11, 149b
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  9. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  10. ^ a b Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF