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voilà

Etymology and origin of the French word voilà

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Compound
First attested
1283, Beaumanoir (ves la)
Ultimate origins
French (vois)Latin (illac)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
French là
French cela
French voilà

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /vwa.la/[1]

Forms

voilà (defective)[1] Old French ves la (about 1283), Middle French vela (1342); the spelling voilà appears in Robert Estienne in 1538.[2][3][4] The Académie wrote voila in 1694 and voilà from 1718.[4]

Etymology

It is formed from French vois + là: the second person singular imperative of voir “to see, look” and the adverb là “there”, literally “look there”.[4][1][5] Old French still kept the two parts separate, as in “ves la” in Beaumanoir.[3][6] The older pronunciation “vela”, common in the 16th and 17th centuries, gave the popular form v'là.[2][6] It is the counterpart of voici “look here”.[4][7]

Littré compares the dialect forms “velà” in Berry, v'lo“ in Picard and ”velai in Burgundian.[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

In 1342 Guillaume de Machaut uses vela to point out a person at some distance: vela celui qui vainqui la bataille “there is the one who won the battle”.[4]

Semantic evolution

From the end of the 14th century it also pointed back to what had just been said (Froissart), giving phrases such as voilà comment (1478–80), voilà pourquoi (1580) and voilà tout (1601).[4] By 1485 it introduced a noun or pronoun set in the circumstances (me vella “here I am”), and, from 1511 vela pas, later ne voilà-t-il pas (1627), expressed surprise.[4]

Grammarians note that it kept a verb's syntax: it takes object pronouns (le voilà) and a relative clause (le voilà qui arrive, 1607).[4][9] From 1757 it was used of time, meaning “it has been, ago” (voilà dix ans).[4] The classical contrast with voici (near) and voilà (far) is hardly kept in everyday speech, which uses voilà for both.[9] Et voilà ! at the end of a statement became fashionable in 1811, according to a song of that year.[10]

Timeline

  • 1283 – Ves la in Beaumanoir's Coutumes de Beauvaisis.[3][2]
  • 1342 – Vela in Guillaume de Machaut.[4]
  • Late 14th century – Froissart uses it of what has just been mentioned.[4]
  • 1538 – Robert Estienne spells it voilà.[2][3]
  • 1580 – Voilà pourquoi in Bernard Palissy.[4]
  • 1627 – Ne voilà-t-il pas in Charles Sorel.[4]
  • 1757 – First use in the sense “ago”.[4]
  • 1811 – The exclamation Et voilà ! is said to be in fashion.[10]

Meanings

Preposition

  1. There is, there are: points out a person or thing, especially one at some distance, in contrast with voici; in everyday use also for what is near: Voilà l'argent.[9][5]
  2. With an object pronoun: le voilà, me voilà, “there he is”, “here I am”.[9][11]
  3. Refers back to what has just been said: voilà pourquoi, voilà tout.[5][8]
  4. Et voilà: marks a conclusion or a statement of fact.[5]
  5. En voilà: stresses a quantity or a quality: en voilà une idée ![11][3]
  6. Followed by a length of time: ago, for: voilà trois ans qu'il est parti.[4][1]

Word family

  • revoilà

Usage notes

Dictionaries class it as a preposition or adverb, but it keeps the syntax of a verb and some grammarians call it a “presentative”.[2][9][4] The word was borrowed into English.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  3. ^ a b c d e 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. ^ a b c d Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
  6. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  7. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  8. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  9. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  10. ^ a b Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
  11. ^ a b Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
Cite this entry

“Voilà.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/voil%C3%A0. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·