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vrai

Etymology and origin of the French word vrai

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
1080, Chanson de Roland
Inherited from
Latin *veracus via Old French
Ultimate origin
Latin (verus)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /vʁɛ/[1]

Forms

vrai (feminine vraie, masculine plural vrais, feminine plural vraies)[1] Old French verai (1080), vrai from about 1160; the Académie wrote vray in 1694 and 1718 and vrai from 1740.[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French verai, inherited from Vulgar Latin *vērācus (“true”), recorded in Medieval Latin as “veragus” (770), from Latin vērāx (“truthful, sincere, reliable”), itself from vērus (“true, real”).[5][3][2][1][6] Meyer-Lübke started instead from “veratius”, found in Merovingian formulas.[7] Rey relates “vērus” to an Indo-European root “*wer-”, also behind German wahr, Welsh “gwir” and Slavic “vera” “faith”.[5]

“Vērus” itself gave Old French ver (about 980), “veir” and voir, much more common than “vrai” in the Middle Ages, and the adverb voire.[5][3] Bloch and Wartburg explain the spread of “verai” as the search for a more expressive word than “voir”; the popular Latin form suits only French, and Old Occitan verai was borrowed from French.[8] English very comes from Old French “verai”.[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in the Chanson de Roland (1080) as verai, “in accordance with the truth”, as opposed to fiction or imitation.[4][3]

Semantic evolution

From about 1165 it was used of a person who tells the truth or acts without pretence, now a literary use; from the late 12th century of what is not feigned (a faith, a love) and of what is rightly named (li vrais Jhesus, about 1200).[5][4] Il est vrai que, introducing a reservation, dates from 1349.[4][5]

As a noun, le vrai “the truth” is found in 1342, pour vrai (1349) survives regionally, as in Canada, while central French says pour de vrai (1827).[5] À vrai parler (late 14th century) gave way to à vrai dire (1538) and à dire vrai (1571).[5] The familiar question pas vrai ? is recorded from 1749.[10]

Timeline

  • c. 980 – Old French ver, from Latin vērus.[3]
  • 1080 – Verai in the Chanson de Roland.[3]
  • c. 1160 – The form vrai.[2]
  • c. 1165 – “Sincere, loyal”, in Benoît de Sainte-Maure.[4]
  • 1342 – The noun le vrai.[5][4]
  • 1349 – Il est vrai que in Guillaume de Machaut.[4]
  • 1538 – À vrai dire.[5]
  • 1749 – Pas vrai ?[10]
  • 1827 – Pour de vrai.[5]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. True, in accordance with the facts: une histoire vraie, il est vrai que….[9][1]
  2. Real, genuine: un vrai diamant.[1][5]
  3. Real, proper, regular, as an intensifier: un vrai désastre.[1][4]
  4. (literary) Sincere, truthful.[5][1]
  5. (art) True to life, natural.[4]
  6. Pas vrai ?: isn't it?, right?[10]

Noun

  1. Le vrai: the truth.[1][5]
  2. Pour de vrai: for real, à vrai dire: to tell the truth.[5]

Adverb

  1. Dire vrai: to speak the truth.[5]

Word family

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  3. ^ a b c d e f 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 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 f g h i j k l m n o Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 14, 273b
  7. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  8. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  9. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  10. ^ a b c Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Vrai.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/vrai. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

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