French words first recorded in the 12th century

It is the noun of détailler (about 1170, “detaller” “to cut to pieces”), from “dé-” and tailler (“to cut”), from Late Latin tāliāre (“to cut”) (from “tālea” “cutting, rod”). Compare Old Occitan detal.

It is formed from the prefix dé- and Old French voloper (“to wrap”), as the opposite of envelopper; “voloper” is probably from Medieval Latin faluppa (“chaff”), influenced by Latin volvō (“to…

It is from French en- + fermer. The verb fermer continues Latin firmō (“to make firm, strengthen”), from firmus (“firm”); it meant “to make firm, fortify” before “to close”, a sense that appears in…

It is inherited from Old French enqueste, inherited from Vulgar Latin *inquaesita, the feminine past participle, used as a noun, of *inquaerō, a form of Latin inquīrō (“to seek out, inquire into”)…

It is borrowed from Latin excellēns (“eminent, superior”), the present participle of excellō (“to surpass, be superior”) (see exceller). Rey explains the verb as ex- and an unattested simple verb…

It is borrowed from Latin exprimō (“to press out; to portray, express”), with a change of conjugation. The Latin verb is formed from ex- (“out”) and premō (“to press”). It ousted épreindre, the…

It is from French franc (“free”) + -ir. The adjective comes from the name of the Franks, from Frankish *frank. Compare Old Occitan franquir. The original sense was “to set free”; the modern sense…

It is inherited from Old French jai, inherited from Late Latin gaius (“jay”) (5th century), probably taken from the personal name Latin Gaius, very common at Rome as a popular nickname: the jay…

It is from French gouverner (“to steer, govern”) + -ment. Medieval Latin had “gubernamen” (11th century). The verb is from Latin gubernō (“to steer a ship; to govern”), from Ancient Greek κυβερνάω…

It is inherited from Old French gras, inherited from Late Latin grassus, an altered form of Latin crassus (“thick, dense; fat; coarse, dull”). The Latin word first meant “thick” and was then used…

It is from French heur + -eux, from “heur” “luck, fortune”. “Heur” (Old French aür, “eür”) is inherited from Late Latin agurium, an altered form of classical Latin augurium (“omen, augury”), which…

It is borrowed from Late Latin hospitāle (“place of refuge, guesthouse”), the noun use of hospitālis (“of a guest, hospitable”) (as in “hospitalis domus”), the adjective of hospes (“guest, host”)…

It is borrowed from Latin inquiētō (“to disturb, trouble”), a verb of the Imperial period, from inquiētus (“restless”) (whence inquiet), from in- (“not”) and quiētus (“at rest”). Wiktionary dates…

It is borrowed from Latin inspīrō (“to breathe into; to communicate, instil”), formed with in- (“in, into”) on spīrō (“to breathe”). Old French also had espirer, from the simple Latin verb, with the…

It is inherited from Latin iūdex (“judge, arbiter”), through its accusative; its sound development followed that of the verb juger. The Latin word is formed from iūs (“law, right”) and dīcō (“to…

It is formed from French ma + dame, Old French “ma dame” “my lady”. “Dame” continues Latin domina (“mistress of a house, lady”), early reduced to “domna” (1st century), with a special development of…

It is inherited from Old French monoie, inherited from Latin monēta (“mint; coined money”). Monēta was first a surname of Juno, Juno Moneta, and coins were struck in or beside her temple on the…

It is from French mouvoir + -ment. Wiktionary compares Medieval Latin “movimentum”, probably partly based on the Old French word, “mouvoir” continues Latin moveō (“to move”). Compare Old Occitan…

It is a remaking, after the adjective net, of Old French noiier (“to clean; to free”) (first half of the 12th century), which is inherited from Vulgar Latin *nitidiō, a verb formed on nitidus…

It is the past participle of the old verb portraire (“to draw, depict”) (about 1130), used as a noun. The verb is formed from pour, used as an intensive prefix, and traire “to draw”, in its old…

It is borrowed from Latin prīncipium (“beginning; origin, foundation, (plural) first principles, elements”), derived from prīnceps (“first; chief”), the source of prince. Wiktionary treats the word…

It is a deverbal noun from French proposer (“to propose”), modelled on Latin prōpositum (“plan, intention; theme”), the neuter past participle of prōpōnō (“to set forth”). “Proposer” is itself the…

It comes from the Old French relative phrase qui qu’onques (“whoever ever”), from qui and onques “ever” (see onc). It was later brought close to Latin quīcumque (“whoever”), written as one word and…

It is inherited from Old French rat, of obscure origin. The animal is generally thought to have come from Asia and to have reached Europe only in the first centuries of the Middle Ages. The word is…

It is borrowed from Latin redūcō (“to lead back, bring back”), with its form adapted to French after conduire and the other verbs in ⟨-duire⟩ such as déduire. The Latin verb is formed from re-…

It is borrowed from Latin reflectō (“to bend back; to turn back; to turn one's mind to”), adapted after fléchir. The Latin verb is formed from re- (“back”) and flectō (“to bend”); in Medieval Latin…

It is borrowed from Latin reservō (“to keep back, set aside; to save”), from the intensive “re-” and servō (“to watch, keep”), whose compounds gave observer, conserver and préserver. From the early…

It is formed from French re- + sentir. “Sentir” comes from Latin sentiō (“to feel, perceive”). Compare Old Occitan resentir, Spanish resentir and Italian risentire.

It is the feminine past participle of the old verb retraire (“to withdraw”), used as a noun. The verb continues Latin retrahō (“to draw back”), from re- (“back”) and trahō (“to draw”), the source of…

It is a remaking of Old French “sentement”, from French sentir + -ment. sentir is from Latin sentiō (“to perceive, feel”). Wiktionary derives “sentement” from Medieval Latin “sentimentum”. Compare…

It is borrowed from Latin sexus (“sex”), which was also used of plants; the older Old French form was borrowed too, then remade after the Latin. The origin of the Latin word is debated: it has been…

It is the third person singular of the present subjunctive of être, which continues inherited from Latin sit (“let it be”), the subjunctive of sum (“to be”). In older French, when it was still felt…

It is from French souffrir + -ance. The TLFi, the Grand Robert and Rey compare, or allow for the influence of, Late Latin sufferentia (“endurance; resignation; patient waiting”), from sufferō (“to…

It is borrowed from Latin titulus (“inscription; title of a book; title of honour”), a word that first named a placard carried on a pole in triumphs, then an epitaph, the heading of a work and an…

It is formed from French trois + -ième. That numeral comes from Latin trēs (“three”). Littré notes that the old language said tiers for “third”.

It is inherited from Old French voiture, inherited from Latin vectūra (“transport, carriage; cost of transport”), from “vectum”, the supine of vehō (“to carry”), whence also véhicule. Cognate with…

It is from French chausser + -ure, an Old French formation. Littré compares a Latin type *calceātūra and Picard cauchure. The verb chausser continues Latin calceō (“to shoe”), from calceus (“shoe…

It is inherited from Latin culpābilis (“guilty, blameworthy”), a word of Christian Latin, from culpa (“fault”), the source of coulpe. Compare Old Occitan colpable, Spanish culpable, Portuguese…

It is from French creux + -er. Bloch and Wartburg think Creux probably of Celtic origin, from a hypothetical Celtic form, since it is found across Gallo-Romance, in Old Occitan cros and in the…

It is a deverbal noun from French danser (“to dance”). The verb, Old French dancier, belongs to the north of France and spread from there to Italian danzare, Spanish danzar, German and English, for…

It is a deverbal noun from fouler “to press, tread”, at first “the place where one is pressed, jostled”, then “a mass of people pressing together”. presse went the same way from presser. That verb…

1. The flight is a deverbal noun from voler “to fly”. That verb is from Latin volō (“to fly”). Compare Occitan vol, Spanish vuelo, Portuguese voo and Italian volo. 2. The theft is a deverbal noun…

It is borrowed from Latin convincō (“to prove guilty; to expose (an error); to prove”), adapted to the form of vaincre. The Latin verb is formed from cum (“with”), here intensive, and vincō (“to…

It is from French dé- + gage with the verb ending “-er”. The noun gage “pledge” is from Frankish *waddi, compare Gothic 𐍅𐌰𐌳𐌹 (wadi, “pledge”).

It is inherited from Old French epistle, from Latin epistula (“letter; verse epistle”) (also “epistola”), from Ancient Greek ἐπιστολή (epistolḗ, “message, letter”), formed from “epi” and a…

It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *fallita (“lack; failing”), the feminine noun use of “*fallitus”, which replaced classical falsus, past participle of fallō (“to deceive, (later) to be lacking”)…

It is formed from French juste + -ment, from the adjective and the adverbial suffix. Anglo-Norman justement (“justly, lawfully”) is recorded from 1113–19.

It is inherited from Old French meigre, inherited from Latin macer (“lean, thin; poor (of soil)”), in its accusative form. The DHLF relates it to Ancient Greek μακρός (makrós, “long”). The expected…

It is a compound from French mal + heur, “bad luck”, from the adjective “mal” “bad” and the old noun heur “luck, fortune”. “Heur”, Old French “aür”, “eür”, comes from Latin agurium, an altered form…

Its origin is obscure. The TLFi and Rey see probably an expressive formation, a Romance *mocco on a stem *mokk- expressing contempt, as its Romance correspondents suggest: Venetian mocar (“to mock…

It is borrowed from Latin mystērium (“secret rites; secret thing”), from Ancient Greek μυστήριον (mustḗrion, “secret rite, mystery”), derived from μύστης (mústēs, “initiate”), itself from μύω (múō…

It is borrowed from Latin occāsiō (“favourable moment, opportunity”), from occāsum, supine of occidō (“to fall, set (of the stars)”), from cadō (“to fall”). It replaced the inherited Old French…

It is inherited from Old French paste, inherited from Late Latin pasta (“dough”) (4th century, Marcellus Empiricus), from Ancient Greek παστά (pastá, “dish of barley and cheese”), the neuter plural…

The TLFi, Rey, the Petit Robert and the GLLF derive it from an imitative stem ⟨patt-⟩, evoking the sound of two objects striking each other, which is widespread in Romance: compare Occitan pato…

It is borrowed from Late Latin persōnālis (“relating to a person”), a term of Latin grammar and law, from persōna (“mask; person”). By surface analysis it is personne + -el. The old spelling was…

It is borrowed from Medieval Latin processus, the legal term for a proceeding before a court (13th century), from Latin prōcessus (“a going forward, progress”), the action noun of prōcēdō (“to go…

It is borrowed from Latin restō (“to stop; to persist; to be left over”), formed with the intensive prefix re- from stō (“to stand”). The keeping of /st/, which a word inherited by the popular route…

It is formed from French a- + muser (“to idle, gape”). Muser (1160) is derived from Old French “mus” “muzzle” (compare museau), and meant literally “to stand with one's nose in the air”. Bloch and…

It is from French apparent + -ment. The ending ⟨-emment⟩ continues ⟨-ent-ment⟩, formed on the old feminine of the adjective, which then had one form for both genders. Apparent, Old French aparant…

It is a deverbal noun from arrêter, which continues Vulgar Latin *arrestō, formed with ad- and Latin restō (“to stay, stand still”), the source of rester. Littré rejects a derivation from Ancient…