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soirée

Etymology and origin of the French word soirée

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 1250, Péan Gatineau (seree)
Ultimate origin
Latin (sērō)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin sero
French soir
French bonsoir
French soirée
Latin series
English series
Latin dissero
Latin sator

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /swa.ʁe/[1]

Forms

soirée f (plural soirées)[1] Old French seree (about 1250; 1180 according to the Grand Robert), still used in the 16th century, soirée from 1564 (Thierry).[2][3][4] Dialects have serée (Poitou) and série (Normandy).[5]

Etymology

It is from French soir + -ée.[2][3][4][1] “Soir” is from Latin sērō (“late”), an adverb, Old French “seree” was remade as “soirée” after it.[4][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

In Péan Gatineau's Vie de saint Martin (about 1250) seree is the time from the end of the day until bedtime.[2]

Semantic evolution

A letter of remission of 1380 uses scerie for an evening gathering.[2] In Flaubert's correspondence (1843) soirée is an evening performance at the theatre, as opposed to the matinée.[2] Evening dress was toilette de soirée by 1844 and habit de soirée in Taine (1867).[6][2]

Timeline

  • c. 1250 – Seree, the evening.[2]
  • 1380 – Scerie, an evening gathering.[2]
  • 1564 – The form soirée.[2]
  • 1843 – An evening performance, Flaubert.[2]
  • 1844 – Toilette de soirée.[6]
  • 1867 – Habit de soirée, Taine.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The evening, from nightfall until bedtime: en fin de soirée, bonne soirée ![3][1]
  2. An evening party or gathering: donner une soirée, soirée dansante, tenue de soirée, evening dress.[1][2]
  3. An evening performance: en soirée, as opposed to en matinée.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m 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. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  5. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  6. ^ a b Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
Cite this entry

“Soirée.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/soir%C3%A9e. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·