Etymologically
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selon

Etymology and origin of the French word selon

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Confidence
Disputed
Formation
Inherited
First attested
12th century, Vie de saint Alexis (sulunc)
Inherited from
Latin *sublongum via Old French
Ultimate origin
Vulgar Latin (*sublongum)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /sə.lɔ̃/[1]

Forms

selon (preposition)[1] Old French sulunc, solonc, selunc, selonc, selon from about 1175.[2][3][4] Forms with final ⟨c⟩ last into the 16th century.[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French sulunc, probably from popular Latin inherited from Vulgar Latin *sublongum (“along”), from sub (“under; close to”) and longum (see long); Old French “lonc” itself meant both “along” and “according to”.[2][3][5][6][7] The earliest form “sulunc” supports this view.[2][7]

Others see a crossing of long with the Old French preposition son (“according to”) (about 1165), from secundum (“following, according to”) (see second), at an unrecorded stage “*seon”; the Latin word gave Old Occitan segon and the other Romance words.[2][3][4][8] Bloch and Wartburg and Rey object that this explains “sulunc” badly.[7][3] Wiktionary suggests that “*sublongum” may be a calque of Frankish “*galang” “according to”.[1]

Compare Catalan segons, Spanish según, Portuguese segundo and Italian secondo.[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the 12th-century manuscript of the Vie de saint Alexis sulunc means “according to, in conformity with”, sulunc sainte escripture is in Philippe de Thaon (1121–34).[2]

Semantic evolution

The conjunction sulunc ceo que “according as” is in the Lois de Guillaume (about 1130), and with a person's name selon gives an opinion (1174–76, Guernes de Pont-Sainte-Maxence), as in l'Évangile selon saint Matthieu (1550).[2][4] The literal sense “along” is in Chrétien de Troyes (1181–90) and was usual until the 16th century, Flaubert still uses it.[2][7] C'est selon “it depends” is in Pascal (1656–57), and the short selon in Molière's Tartuffe (1664).[2]

Timeline

  • 1121–34 – Sulunc sainte escripture, Philippe de Thaon.[2]
  • c. 1130 – Sulunc ceo que.[2]
  • c. 1175 – The form selon.[2]
  • 1181–90 – “Along”, Chrétien de Troyes.[2]
  • 1656–57 – C'est selon, Pascal.[2]

Meanings

Preposition

  1. according to, in accordance with: selon les règles, à chacun selon ses besoins.[6][1]
  2. Depending on: selon le temps, selon que, according as.[6][8]
  3. According to (someone's opinion): selon moi, selon les experts, l'Évangile selon saint Jean.[6][9]
  4. C'est selon: it depends.[6][2]
  5. (obsolete) Along: selon la rive.[5][2]

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 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  5. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  7. ^ a b c d Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  8. ^ a b Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
  9. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Selon.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/selon. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

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