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sismique

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Etymology and origin of the French word sismique

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1856 Bulletin du bibliophile belge More words from the 19th century
Ultimate origin
Ancient Greek σεισμός
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Ancient Greek σείω (seíō)
Ancient Greek σεισμός (seismós)
French sismique
From the same root
English seismic ← σεισμός

Pronunciation

Forms

sismique (plural sismiques)[1]

Etymology

It is formed from French séisme + -ique, or from the combining form sismo-,[2] and was first spelled ⟨seismique⟩ in 1856.[2][3] The Grand Robert and the Petit Robert derive it from sisme, an older variant of the noun.[4][3] The noun is from Ancient Greek σεισμός (seismós, “shaking, earthquake”), from σείω (seíō, “to shake”).[2][1]

Littré rejected the spelling ⟨seismique⟩, since Greek ⟨ει⟩ is written ⟨i⟩ in French, but both forms are still used.[5][2][6] Rey notes that the adjective became established before the noun, as the English word seismic (1858) did.[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The word appears as seismique in 1856 in the Bulletin du bibliophile belge, meaning “relating to earthquakes”.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

The Petit Robert has sismique from 1861; the Grand Robert dates séismique to 1863 and sismique to 1871, the year of Littré's record.[3][4][6] It is frequent in secousse sismique.[7] It also means prone to earthquakes, as in régions très séismiques.[2]

In geophysics prospection sismique (recorded in 1964) is prospecting by recording waves sent back from explosions, and the noun la sismique for this method dates from about 1979.[7][6][3] The derivative sismicité is recorded in 1892.[2][7]

Timeline

  • 1856 – Seismique appears in the Bulletin du bibliophile belge.[2][3]
  • 1861 – Sismique is recorded.[3]
  • 1871 – Littré records both forms.[6][7]
  • 1892 – The derivative sismicité appears.[2][7]
  • 1964 – Prospection sismique is recorded.[7][6]
  • c. 1979 – The noun la sismique is in use.[7]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Relating to earthquakes: secousse sismique, ondes sismiques.[3][2][5]
  2. Where earthquakes occur, prone to earthquakes.[2]
  3. Prospection sismique: geophysical prospecting that records the waves reflected from explosions set off underground.[3][6]

Noun

  1. (geophysics) Seismic prospecting.[3][7]

Word family

  • sismicité

Usage notes

The variant séismique is also used.[2][6]

References

  1. ^ a b c 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 e f g h i j Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert 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 Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Sismique.” Etymologically, 15 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/sismique. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

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