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Etymology and origin of the Old French word variant

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 1382 Cuvelier, Chanson de Bertrand du Guesclin More words from the 14th century
Ultimate origin
Latin varius
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Old French variant
English variant
From the same root
English invariant ← variant

Forms

variant (feminine variante)[1]

Etymology

It is the present participle, used as an adjective, from Old French varier (“to change, vary”).[3][4] The verb was borrowed in the 12th century from Latin variō (“to diversify, change”),[5][6][7] which comes from varius (“speckled, variegated”).[6][8] Bloch and Wartburg take the older vairié, a term of heraldry and goldsmiths' work, for the inherited outcome of the Latin participle variātus.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLFi's first record of the adjective is in Cuvelier's Chanson de Bertrand du Guesclin, about 1382, where it means changeable or fickle.[3] The verb is much older: the DEAF's earliest dated record is the Anglo-Norman Proverbes de Salemon of Sanson de Nantuil, from the middle of the 12th century.[9][10]

Semantic evolution

In Anglo-Norman the participle served as an adjective meaning different, discrepant or inconsistent, and as a noun for a discrepancy, mostly in legal language.[4] Godefroy's Complément quotes un variant penser “a changing thought” from Ronsard.[11] In French the feminine became a noun: variantes are other readings of a text from 1717 and other spellings of a word from 1794, while the masculine noun appears in biology in 1933.[3]

Timeline

  • c. 1382 – the adjective in Cuvelier's Chanson de Bertrand du Guesclin.[3]
  • late 14th century – Middle English variaunt.[12]
  • 1717 – French variantes, other readings of a text.[3]
  • 1794 – variante for another spelling of a word.[3]
  • 1933 – the masculine noun in biology.[3]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. changing, varying; fickle.[1][3]
  2. (Anglo-Norman) different; discrepant, inconsistent.[4]

Noun

  1. (Anglo-Norman, law) a discrepancy, an inconsistency.[4]

Anglo-Norman

The AND enters the participle under varier, a verb it first cites from 1181–85 and which in insular law also meant to make two differing statements or to show a discrepancy.[4] Middle English variaunt comes, according to the MED, from Old French variant, Anglo-French variaunt and varriant, and, from the Latin participle,[2] and Etymonline dates it to the late 14th century; it is the source of the English word variant.[12]

Descendants

  • Middle French variant (→ French variant)[3]
  • Middle English variaunt (borrowed; → English variant)[2][12]
  • vairié

Usage notes

Godefroy's Complément is the only one of the dictionaries to give the adjective its own head;[11] Tobler–Lommatzsch, the DEAF and the AND treat it under the verb, variier or varier.[13][9][4]

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
  3. ^ 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
  4. ^ a b c d e f Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–), p. s.v. varier
  5. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France, p. 704
  6. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert, p. s.v. varier
  7. ^ Gamillscheg, Ernst (1966–1969), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der französischen Sprache, 2nd, fully revised ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 934
  8. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  9. ^ a b Baldinger, Kurt; Möhren, Frankwalt; Städtler, Thomas, eds. (1971–2021), Dictionnaire étymologique de l'ancien français (DEAF), Heidelberg: Heidelberger Akademie der Wissenschaften; DEAFél / DEAFpré, deaf-server.adw.uni-heidelberg.de, p. s.v. variier
  10. ^ Möhren, Frankwalt, Dictionnaire étymologique de l'ancien français (DEAF): Complément bibliographique, electronic version (DEAFBiblEl), Heidelberger Akademie der Wissenschaften, alma.hadw-bw.de/deafbibl (texts by siglum, with their dates), p. ProvSalSanI
  11. ^ a b Godefroy, Frédéric (1881–1902), Dictionnaire de l'ancienne langue française et de tous ses dialectes du IXe au XVe siècle, 10 vols., Paris: Vieweg / Bouillon, p. 10:830
  12. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  13. ^ Tobler, Adolf; Lommatzsch, Erhard (1925–2002), Altfranzösisches Wörterbuch, 11 vols., Berlin / Wiesbaden / Stuttgart: Weidmann / Steiner, p. 11:118
Cite this entry

“Variant.” Etymologically, 13 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fro/variant. Accessed 13 Nov. 2026.

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