Etymologically
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visite

Etymology and origin of the French word visite

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Back-formation
First attested
1350, ordinance (inspection)
Ultimate origin
Latin (visitō)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /vi.zit/[1]
  • IPA (Quebec): /vi.zɪt/[1]

Forms

visite f (plural visites)[1]

Etymology

It is a deverbal noun from French visiter (“to visit”).[2][3][4][5][1] “Visiter” (1130) was borrowed from Latin visitō (“to go to see; to visit”), and in the Middle Ages was used above all in religious and legal language.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

An ordinance of 1350 has en toutes sortes de marchandises et en tous mestiers il y aura visite, an inspection, an examination; the Grand Robert dates it to 1556, in the sense “search”.[2][6][3]

Semantic evolution

Montaigne (1580) uses it for going to see a place, la visite des pays estrangers, and for going to see a person, visites estrangieres.[2][7] The tour of inspection of a bishop or a religious superior is recorded by Monet (1636), and Furetière (1690) has the visits of the sick, of prisoners and of doctors.[2] Rendre visite à quelqu'un is in d'Aubigné, the carte de visite in 1785, and une visite for the person visiting in Marivaux (1740).[4][2] The visite domiciliaire, a police search of a house, dates from 1790, and the customs visite from 1723.[2][4]

Timeline

  • 1350 – An inspection.[2]
  • 1556 – A search.[3]
  • 1580 – Visiting a place; visiting a person, Montaigne.[2]
  • 1636 – A bishop's visitation.[2]
  • 1690 – A doctor's visit, Furetière.[2]
  • 1740 – A visitor, Marivaux.[2]
  • 1785 – Carte de visite.[2]
  • 1790 – Visite domiciliaire.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A visit to someone: rendre visite à quelqu'un, une visite de politesse, carte de visite.[6][8]
  2. A visitor, visitors: avoir de la visite.[2][4]
  3. A visit to a place: la visite d'un musée, visite guidée.[2][8]
  4. A doctor's call or examination: visite médicale.[2][6]
  5. An inspection, a search: visite de douane, droit de visite.[4][2]
  6. An official visit: la visite du président.[8]

Word family

  • contre-visite

References

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

“Visite.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/visite. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·