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simplet

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Etymology and origin of the French word simplet

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 1205 Enfances Vivien More words from the 13th century
Ultimate origin
Latin simplex
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin simplex
English simplex
French simple
Romanian simplu
French simplet
Italian semplice
From the same root
French simpliste ← simplex
Latin simplicitās ← simplex
Latin simpliciter ← simplex
French simplement ← simple
French simplifier ← simple
Italian semplicemente ← semplice

Pronunciation

  • /sɛ̃.plɛ/[1]

Forms

simplet (feminine simplette, masculine plural simplets, feminine plural simplettes)[1]

Etymology

It is formed from French simple + -et, a diminutive.[2][3][4] The base (about 1138) is from Latin simplex (“made of one element, plain”).[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

It appears in the Enfances Vivien (about 1205; about 1180 in the Robert dictionaries and the DHLF) of a person who is childlike and artless.[2][4][6]

Semantic evolution

Used of a person too candid, a little simple-minded, the word also became a noun; the feminine noun is rare (1460).[6] Littré quotes the 15th-century Nouvelles of Louis XI: la simplette le regardait en pitié.[3] Its use for a thing that is too simple or rather poor is recorded in the 20th century, by the Académie in 1935.[6][4]

Timeline

  • c. 1205 – Recorded in the Enfances Vivien.[2]
  • 1460 – The feminine noun.[6]
  • 1935 – The Académie records the sense “too simple”, of things.[4]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Of a person: a little simple-minded, naïf.[7][2]
  2. Of a thing: too simple, rather poor.[7][2]

Noun

  1. A simpleton.[2][1]

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f 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 Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  4. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  5. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  6. ^ a b c d Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  7. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Simplet.” Etymologically, 15 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/simplet. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·