French words first recorded in the 13th century

It is from French ce + pendant, the present participle of pendre, of which “ce” was at first the subject: “this being pending”.

It is borrowed from Latin territōrium (“land around a town, district”), with the suffix adapted to French. The Latin word is derived from terra (“earth, land”), whence terre. The inherited doublet…

It is borrowed from Latin applicō (“to bring into contact; to apply (one's mind)”), from ad- and plicō (“to fold”). The Latin verb had given the inherited Old French aploier (12th century) and…

It is borrowed from Latin contentus (“satisfied, contented”), the past participle of contineō (“to hold together, contain; to restrain”), from teneō (“to hold”). Literally “who holds himself in”…

It is formed from French final + -ment. final (1174–1178) is borrowed from Late Latin fīnālis (“at the end”), from fīnis (“end”). Old French had also finablement (“definitively”) (about 1185)…

It is formed from French grand + -ir. Littré instead derived it from Latin grandiō (“to make great”), and compares Old Occitan grandir and Italian grandire.

It is from French re- + attraper (“to catch”), with the prefix in its reduced form ⟨r-⟩. attraper is derived from trappe “trap”, a word of West Germanic, perhaps Frankish, origin: Frankish *trappa…

It is formed from French table + -eau, from table and the diminutive suffix. Etymonline traces the suffix to Latin -ellus.

It is a diminutive of vigne (“vine”) with the suffix “-ette”, because the ornament first represented vine branches and leaves; it is no longer felt to be related. “Vigne” is inherited from Latin…

It is borrowed from Medieval Latin data (“given”), from the formula data littera (“letter given”), whose first words stated when a document had been drawn up. It is the feminine past participle of…

1. The gun word covers two formations: cannon (1282), derived in French from canne “tube, reed”, and in the 14th century the artillery term borrowed from Italian cannone, an augmentative of canna…

It is borrowed from Latin obtineō (“to hold firmly; to possess; to maintain, keep”), from ob- and teneō (“to hold”), adapted to the conjugation of tenir. The Latin verb took the sense “to obtain”…

It is borrowed from Late Latin reālis (“real, actual”), a word of the 4th century, used in medieval philosophy for “existing in itself” and in law for “relating to things” (1198–1199). The Latin…

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”. Old French still kept the two parts separate, as…

1. The enclosure is the feminine past participle of enceindre used as a noun. It remade the older Old French aceinte, the participle of aceindre, by a change of prefix; the Old French verb was a…

It is a learned formation from Latin respōnsus (supine “responsum”), past participle of respondeō (“to answer; to stand surety”), made to serve as the adjective of répondre in the sense “to be…

1. The pancake is the feminine of the Old French adjective cresp, crespe (“curly, wavy”), used as a noun, which is inherited from Latin crispus (“curly”); it alludes to the look the batter takes as…

1. The verb is borrowed from Medieval Latin officiare (“to perform one's office; to celebrate divine service”), from Latin officium (“duty, office”) (see office). 2. The officer is borrowed from…

It is borrowed from Latin respectus (“a looking back; regard, consideration; refuge”), the action noun of respiciō (“to look back; to take into account”), from re- (“back”) and speciō (“to look”)…

It is borrowed from Late Latin capitāneus (“chief, foremost, (as a noun) military chief”), from caput (“head”). The Late Latin adjective first meant “initial”, of a line of text, and as a noun a…

It is borrowed from Latin cīvīlis (“of citizens; civil; courteous”), recorded in French in 1290. The Latin adjective is derived from cīvis (“citizen”), older ceivis, the free member of a city as…

It is borrowed from Latin imāginor (“to picture to oneself, imagine”), a word of the Imperial period derived from imāgō (“image, likeness”) (see image). Compare Occitan imaginar, Spanish imaginar…

It is borrowed from Latin interest (“it matters; there is a difference”), the impersonal third person singular of intersum (“to be between; to take part in; to matter”), used as a noun meaning “what…

It is borrowed, after réel, from Medieval Latin reālitās, a derivative of Late Latin reālis (“actual, of things”), from Latin rēs (“thing”). Medieval Latin “realitas” meant “property, possession”…

It is borrowed from Latin stilus (“pointed stake; writing stylus; manner of writing”). The ⟨y⟩ comes from a false connection with Ancient Greek στῦλος (stûlos, “column”). In Latin the word named any…

It is a back-formation from envelopper. The verb, Old French envoloper (980) and anveloper (about 1175), is formed with en- on Old French voloper (“to wrap”), of obscure origin; the TLFi, Bloch and…

It is the elided article “l’” fused with Old French “endemain” “the following day”, itself from French en + demain. Littré explains that once the article had fused, its origin was forgotten and…

1. Its origin is uncertain. It may be the noun of an old verb “niger”, “nicher” “to act the fool, waste one's time” (from 1567 to 1611, alive in Champagne and Hainaut), a sense some explain by the…

It is borrowed from Latin praesidēns (“one who presides; governor”), the present participle of praesideō (“to preside over, be in command of”), used as a noun. In imperial Latin it was the title of…

It is borrowed from Late Latin vērificō (“to present as true”), from vērus (“true”) (see vrai) and faciō (“to make”). Compare Old Occitan verificar and Italian verificare.

It is formed from Old French mon + sieur, from the possessive mon and sieur, the old object case of sire, whose subject case gave messire. “Sieur” comes from Latin “seiōrem”, for classical Latin…

It is borrowed from Italian giraffa, itself from Arabic زرافة (zarāfa, “giraffe”). The Italian word is recorded from the second half of the 13th century. The Arabic word had already reached Old…

It is borrowed from Italian piaggia (“gently sloping shore; hillside”), also spiaggia, from Ancient Greek πλάγια (plágia, “sides, flanks”), the neuter plural of πλάγιος (plágios, “oblique…

1. The tree name is borrowed from Arabic بان (bān, “ben tree, moringa”), a word already found in Medieval Latin in the 13th century. The Grand Robert glosses the Arabic tree name as “oriental willow…

It is from French bien + tôt, first the adverbial phrase “bien tost” (about 1380), in which “bien” strengthened “tôt”. Old French tost continues popular Latin Vulgar Latin tostum, the neuter of…

It is a compound of the demonstrative pronoun celle and the adverb ci “here”. The pronoun continues Vulgar Latin *ecce illa (“that one there”), from ecce (“behold”) and ille (“that”), the feminine…

It is borrowed from Latin classis (“division of the Roman people; group; levy of troops; fleet”), first in the 14th century. Rey says the Latin word probably meant “a call”, then the divisions of…

It is the noun of Old French cliquer (“to make a noise”), from the imitative stem “klikk-” for a short, sharp sound (see cliquetis, déclic). The TLFi thinks the sense “coterie” more probably alludes…

It is borrowed from Latin complētus (“filled; finished”), the past participle of compleō (“to fill up; to finish”), formed from com- and pleō (“to fill”). The noun meaning “suit” is short for habit…

It is borrowed from Latin complexus (“made of interwoven elements”), the past participle of complector (“to embrace, encompass”), from com- and plectō (“to plait, interweave”). The psychoanalytic…

It is borrowed from Latin crisis (“decisive stage of a disease”), first used in its accusative form crisin. The Latin word is from Ancient Greek κρίσις (krísis, “decision, judgement”) in its medical…

It is borrowed from Latin daemon (“spirit, genius; in Church Latin, evil spirit, devil; idol”), from Ancient Greek δαίμων (daímōn, “divine power; fate; guardian spirit”). The early form demoygne…

The origin is disputed. The likeliest explanation: it is borrowed from Middle Dutch droge (“dry”), from droge vate (“dry barrels”), the adjective being taken as a noun for the contents, “dried…

It is a deverbal noun from French excuser (“to excuse”). The verb, first written escuser (about 1120), is from Latin excūsō (“to excuse, justify”), properly “to put out of the case”, formed from ex-…

It is borrowed from Latin explicō (“to unroll, unfold; to set out clearly”), formed from ex-, reversing the action, and plicō (“to fold”). “Plicō” is an intensive of plectō (“to plait, twine”). It…

It is borrowed from Latin fāmōsus (“well known, renowned; notorious”), from fāma (“report, reputation”). The TLFi and Rey date the borrowing to the early 14th century, in the form famose; Bloch and…

It is a back-formation from fatiguer. The verb was borrowed in the early 14th century from Latin fatīgō (“to tire out”), which first meant “to drive an animal to collapse”; Rey derives it probably…

It is borrowed from Latin fatīgō (“to tire out; to harass, torment”), which in Latin first meant “to ride (an animal) to death”, then “to wear out”, and in imperial Latin “to pester”. It is probably…

It is borrowed from Latin gravis (“heavy; low (of a sound); weighty, serious; dignified”). It ousted the inherited adjective grief, “griève”, its doublet, which lasted until the 17th century and…

It is the past participle of inviter, used as an adjective and a noun. The verb is borrowed from Latin invītō (“to invite, especially to a meal; to encourage”) (1356); the Latin verb is of unknown…

The TLFi takes it as probably a back-formation from médeciner “to treat medically”, also “mediciner” in the old language, Wiktionary agrees. The Grand Robert, the GLLF and the Petit Robert derive it…

It is formed from French mérite + -er. “Mérite” was borrowed from Latin meritum (“desert, merit”), from mereō (“to earn, deserve”). Wiktionary also allows a borrowing of Latin meritō (“to earn”). It…

1. The look is probably borrowed from Breton min (“beak, muzzle”), according to the TLFi, the Grand Robert and Rey, who all qualify it with “perhaps”. Pierre Guiraud proposes instead Old French mine…

It is from French organe + -iser, a learned formation. Organe is borrowed from Latin organum (“instrument; organ”), from Ancient Greek ὄργανον (órganon, “instrument”). Wiktionary instead traces it…

It is borrowed from Latin recuperō (“to regain, recover possession of”), the Latin verb whose inherited outcome is recouvrer, a doublet. The GLLF relates it to recipiō (“to take back, receive”).

The origin is uncertain. Bloch and Wartburg explain it as an alteration of Poitevin bot (“clog”), a form of botte “boot”, by crossing with savate “old shoe”; the TLFi agrees. The FEW and the Grand…

It is formed from sabot with the verb ending “-er”. The sense “to botch” may come from the old sense “to shake, knock” (early 14th century, “caboter” in the “Ovide moralisé”, Old Occitan “sabotar”)…

It is a learned remaking (about 1300) of Old French tresformer, borrowed from Latin trānsfōrmō (“to change in shape, metamorphose”). The Latin verb is formed from trāns (“across, beyond”) and fōrmō…