Etymologically
Log in

seigneur

Etymology and origin of the French word seigneur

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
842, Serments de Strasbourg (sendra)
Inherited from
Latin senior via Old French
Ultimate origin
Latin (senex)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin senior
English senior
French seigneur

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /sɛ.ɲœʁ/[1]
  • IPA: /se.ɲœʁ/[1]

Forms

seigneur m (plural seigneurs, feminine seigneuresse or seigneuse)[1] Old French nominative sendra (842), soon replaced by sire; oblique senior (about 980), seignur, seignor (Chanson de Roland); seigneur from the 12th–13th century.[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French seignor, inherited from Latin seniōrem (“older; an elder”), the accusative of “senior”, comparative of senex (“old”).[2][3][5][4][6] Already in the 1st century “senior” was a term of respect, and in Christian Latin it named the head of a community, a bishop or a king; it took the place of dominus (“master”) for persons of high rank.[2][3][5] The Latin nominative gave Old French “sendra”, replaced by “sire”, and “sieur” too comes from this word.[2][5][3] Rey compares Irish sen (“old”) and Vedic “sánaḥ”.[3]

Cognate with Italian signore, Occitan senhor, Catalan senyor, Spanish señor and Portuguese senhor.[7][5][8] senior is a doublet, taken from English.[1][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Strasbourg Oaths (842) speak of Karlus meos sendra “Charles my lord”, the man on whom lands and persons depend.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

From the first texts it was also a name for God: Nostre Senior (about 980), whence Notre-Seigneur for Christ, le jour du Seigneur and the interjection Seigneur ! (Mme de Sévigné, 1680).[2][3][9] Old French used it for a husband (about 1050), a master and an owner, and as a form of address, mon seigneur et maître “my husband” is a jest of Molière's (1662).[2][3]

It is a historical term for the feudal lord of lands and men, and a title kept until the end of the Ancien Régime, used constantly in classical tragedy (Seigneur, Corneille, 1642).[3][2] Grand seigneur (1250) came to mean a rich man, as in faire le grand seigneur (1690) and vivre en grand seigneur, le Grand Seigneur was the Turkish sultan (Montaigne, 1580).[3][9] À tout seigneur tout honneur is found in Noël du Fail (1547).[10]

Timeline

  • 842 – Sendra, Strasbourg Oaths.[2]
  • c. 980 – Nostre Senior, the Lord, Passion of Clermont.[9]
  • c. 1050 – Seignor, a lord; a husband, Vie de saint Alexis.[2]
  • 12th century – Seigneurie and monseigneur.[5]
  • 1250 – Grand seigneur.[3]
  • 1349 – A tous seigneurs toutes honneurs, Machaut.[2]
  • 1580 – Le Grand Seigneur, Montaigne.[9]
  • 1642 – Seigneur as an address, Corneille.[2]
  • 1680 – The interjection Seigneur !.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (historical) A feudal lord, the holder of a fief: le seigneur et ses vassaux.[7][11][12]
  2. (literary) A master, ruler: seigneur et maître, (jocular) mon seigneur et maître, my husband.[7][12]
  3. (dated) A nobleman of high rank; a title or form of address: haut et puissant seigneur, Seigneur in classical tragedy.[13][3]
  4. Grand seigneur: a man who lives in style: vivre en grand seigneur.[3][1]
  5. Le Seigneur: the Lord, God; also Notre-Seigneur, Christ, and the exclamation Seigneur ! “Good Lord!”.[3][1]
  6. (Canada, historical) The holder of a seigneury.[1]

Word family

  • seigneurie
  • seigneurial
  • monseigneur
  • seigneuriage
  • seigneuresse
  • sire
  • sieur
  • monsieur
  • senior
  • sénile

Usage notes

À tout seigneur tout honneur “honour to whom honour is due” is the usual form of the proverb from 1606, Machaut has a tous seigneurs toutes honneurs (1349).[2][10]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n 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 k l m n Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ a b c d e Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 11, 448b
  7. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  8. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  9. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  10. ^ a b Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
  11. ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
  12. ^ a b Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
  13. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Seigneur.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/seigneur. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·