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véritable

Etymology and origin of the French word véritable

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 1165, Benoît de Sainte-Maure
Ultimate origin
Latin (vēritās)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
French vérité
French véritable

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ve.ʁi.tabl/[1]

Forms

véritable (plural véritables)[1] Old French veritable and veritaule (about 1190).[2][3] The Académie wrote veritable in 1694 and 1718, véritable from 1740.[4]

Etymology

It is formed from French vérité + -able, like charitable from charité.[4][5][1] Vérité is borrowed from Latin vēritās, from vērus (“true”).[6] Littré notes that in the 12th century French also said verable.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Benoît de Sainte-Maure uses it about 1165 in the Roman de Troie for what is real and certain; about 1188 Aimon de Varennes writes c'est chose veritable, “it is true”.[4][2]

Semantic evolution

At the end of the 12th century it was said of a person who always tells the truth (veritaule in the Sermons of Saint Bernard), a sense that was still current in the classical period, as in Pascal's J'essaye d'être toujours véritable.[4][2] La Fontaine's un ami veritable (1678–1679) shows the sense “real, genuine”, and Molière's le véritable Amphitryon (1668) “the real one, despite appearances”.[4][2] From Rousseau's j'étais un véritable idiot pour eux (1762), it also stresses the aptness of a comparison.[4] Of materials it means “genuine, not imitation” (cuir véritable).[7][5]

Timeline

  • c. 1165 – “Real, certain”, in the Roman de Troie.[4]
  • c. 1188 – “True, in accordance with the truth”, in Aimon de Varennes.[4][3]
  • Late 12th century – “Truthful”, of a person.[4]
  • 1678–1679 – Un ami veritable, in La Fontaine.[4]
  • 1740 – The Académie spells it véritable.[4]
  • 1762 – Stressing an image, in Rousseau.[4]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Real, authentic: son véritable nom est inconnu.[7][8]
  2. Genuine, not mixed or imitated: du cuir véritable, de l'or véritable.[7][5]
  3. Having all the qualities proper to its kind: un amour véritable, un véritable ami.[7][5]
  4. (before the noun) Stressing the aptness of an image: c'est une véritable folie.[7][4]
  5. (archaic) Truthful, sincere.[8][9]

References

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

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Véritable.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/v%C3%A9ritable. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

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