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vœu

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Etymology and origin of the French word vœu

Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
1080 More words from the 11th century
Inherited from
Latin votum via Old French
Ultimate origin
Latin voveō
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin vōtum
French vœu
English vote
Italian voto
From the same root
Latin vōtīvus ← vōtum
English voter ← vote

Pronunciation

Forms

vœu m (plural vœux)[1] Old French vode (1080), vot (about 1120), vou (about 1155) and veu (about 1175); the spelling vœu is a remaking of 1549.[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French vot, inherited from Latin vōtum (“vow, offering, wish”).[4][5][2][6] The Latin noun is the neuter past participle, used as a noun, of voveō (“to vow, to wish”);[2][7] Rey relates the verb to Ancient Greek εὔχομαι (eúkhomai, “to pray”) and to a Vedic word for one who makes a vow, from an Indo-European root of the religious vocabulary of prayer.[2][7]

The English vote, which gave French vote, is a doublet.[1][7] Cognate with Italian voto, Spanish voto, Portuguese voto, Occitan vot and Catalan vot.[7][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

In 1080 the archaic form vode appears in malde vode, a bad vow, that is, ruin or perdition, a phrase used until the 13th century.[2] In the Cambridge Psalter (first half of the 12th century) vuz are prayers of praise or supplication to God and promises made to Him for a request granted.[4]

Semantic evolution

From the 12th century it named, as in Latin, a promise made to God to perform a meritorious act, and by 1176–1181 in Chrétien de Troyes a promise made to oneself, a resolution.[4][2] It named the offering promised by a vow, an ex-voto, from 1403.[4] In the plural, faire les vœux (1549) was said of entering religious life, with its vows of poverty, chastity and obedience.[4][2]

From 1538 it also meant a wish addressed to God and then any keen wish; from 1636 les vœux were good wishes addressed to someone, especially at the New Year.[4][2] Classical French used it in the plural for the wish to be loved (1644).[4][2] At the Revolution it took the sense of the will expressed by an authority (le vœu national, 1790), and later (1876) a request by a body that cannot enforce it.[4][2]

Timeline

  • 1080 – The archaic form vode in malde vode.[2]
  • first half of the 12th century – Vuz in the Cambridge Psalter.[4]
  • 1130–1140 – Wace uses faire vo.[4]
  • 1176–1181 – Chrétien de Troyes uses it for a promise made to oneself.[4][2]
  • 1403 – Used for an ex-voto.[4]
  • 1538 – Estienne records veux for wishes.[4][2]
  • 1549 – The spelling vœu appears.[2]
  • 1636 – Corneille uses vœux for good wishes to someone.[4][2]
  • 1790 – Mirabeau speaks of le vœu national.[4][2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A vow, a promise made to God or a deity: faire vœu de.[7][9][4]
  2. A religious vow;[9][7] les trois vœux: poverty, chastity and obedience.[9][7]
  3. A promise made to oneself, a resolution.[9]
  4. A wish;[9][1] vœu pieux: a wish with no hope of fulfilment.[9][1]
  5. (in the plural) Good wishes: vœux de bonne année.[9]
  6. A request or motion by a body that cannot enforce it; a civil servant's or pupil's official request for a posting.[9]

Word family

  • vouer
  • votif
  • dévouer
  • dévouement
  • vote
  • ex-voto
  • Latin vōtum

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 n o p Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  3. ^ Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  4. ^ 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
  5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 14, 636b
  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 f g Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  8. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Vœu.” Etymologically, 11 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/v%C5%93u. Accessed 12 Nov. 2026.

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