By and nicole
Last updated:
December 14, 2022
Not sure what a particular word is in French?
Just say it with a French accent and see if the locals understand.
Sure, it may not be the most comprehensive way of learning, but it works more often than you might think.
Although English retains much in the way of Germanic influence, a surprising amount of its vocabulary has been taken from words of French origin.
While there are some that we are all well aware of, there are more that don’t even sound French!
The further you go down the French rabbit hole, the more instances of ties between the two languages you’ll notice cropping up.
Today, we’re going to look at some of these less likely-looking English words of French origin.
Not only will this give you valuable insight into how closely the two languages are related, but it will help grow and reinforce your existing French vocabulary.
But first, let’s look at why there’s so much shared history between the two languages, and what this means for learners.
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Why Are There So Many Similarities Between English and French?
We might not always feel like there are major links between the French and English languages, but in fact, a huge number of the words we use today are of French origin!
That means that whenever we make a comment or express ourselves in some way, we’re tapping into years of French linguistics.
Most of the words of French origin we use today were brought over during the Norman conquest of England in 1066. After England was taken over by the French, the country fell under significant influence from the leader at the time, William the Conqueror. While the French later left the country for warmer climes, much of their language stuck around.
How Learning Which English Words Were Borrowed from French Can Aid Learning
You’ll find you already know many French words
Similarities between French and English can really play to your advantage, and once you realize how many words cross over, you may notice that you know a great deal of French already! Often, spellings between English and French words are the main difference, and as long as you apply a French accent, you can successfully communicate a word in French to a native.
Translation becomes easier
The similarities work in the opposite way, too. It can be very easy to guess what a word means in French when it holds so many similarities to its English counterpart. This is especially handy when reading and writing, as seeing a word before you hear it spoken is often the easiest way to recognize what its English equivalent might be. Of course, you need to remember to be careful of faux amis—not all words that look the same mean the same thing!
Cognates are simple to remember
Often, learners have a specific set of French words that we use time and again. It can be tricky to get ourselves out of the habit. Many adjectives in French and English are very close in spelling and simply doing your research on cognates is enough to help you learn new words, remember them and express yourself more eloquently.
We all have our favorite French origin words in English, and there are many English words that just “look” French, but there are also many French origin words that are likely to slip by unnoticed.
So to give you a leg up on learning and to show you exactly how well-hidden the links between French and English can be, we’re going to explore some similar-origin words you may be prone to miss.
These words might appear to be completely English, but dig a little deeper, and you’ll discover that they’re not at all what they seem.
11 English Words That Are Surprisingly Borrowed from French
1. Money
While it might look English and sound English, “money” is actually a word that was used in France in various other versions before it made its way over to England and beyond. It first made its way into the English-speaking world by replacing the Middle English word schat (money/treasure).
The word monnaie is still used in French today, normally to describe cash or loose change.
2. Denim
Unlike many other words from France, “denim” has a more modern history, and once you know about this one, you’ll probably not forget it in a hurry! Before Levi Strauss made jeans the item to own, the material was constructed in the French town of Nîmes. The word actually comes from de Nîmes (from Nîmes)!
Looking into the history of a word like this shines a light on cultural and geographical developments of which many of us might not be aware. It shows how, by paying closer attention to the words we use, we can learn a huge amount about the way languages change over time.
3. Advice
Modern day French has the word avis (opinion), which you may already be aware of. In Old French, the phrase ce m’est a vis was originally used to mean “in my view.”
While the French still say à mon avis in order to communicate a similar idea, the English took the last word only, transforming it to “advice.”
4. Origin
Ironically, “origin” is not originally English! Taken from the old Latin word origo, the word was altered in French to be pronounced as origine. Since the Old French word origine made its way to Britain, the word has remained largely unchanged in meaning and form.
5. Honesty
The French word for honesty, honnêteté, might be a mouthful, but at least the spelling is similar to the English word. The Old French word, honesté, is even closer.
6. Habit
The modern French word for having a “habit” is habitude. Although that looks similar, our word here is related to the French word “habit” (clothing). In fact, in English, you can still use the word “habit” to refer to a nun’s clothing. In Latin, the word habitus used to refer to clothing, or a person’s state of appearance in general.
The Latin habeō could be used to mean either “to have” or “to hold,” which, while seemingly disconnected, may point to the word’s modern day meaning. It could have been believed that having ownership over something resulted in regular use, and thus the word may have begun to take on its current definition.
7. Liberal
While we might associate being socially liberal, or a liberal political party, with the English-speaking world, in Old French, the same word was most probably used to describe something that was befitting a free-thinking person. It’s originally from the Latin liberalis, which also had the connotation of “generous.”
8. Modern
While you could easily be forgiven for thinking that the French word moderne was taken from the English, the opposite is actually true. This one was lifted from the Middle French word moderne, which appeared by way of Latin.
9. Sport
Again, you might assume the French word sport was lifted from the English. But its journey was a bit more complex than that! It started off with the Old French word desporter, which was used to describe something you took pleasure in doing. It came into English as “disport,” which eventually became just “sport.” In the early 19th century, French borrowed the word back from English. From French, to English, back to French!
10. Utensil
Although “utensil” sounds as if it might have Germanic origins, that’s not the case. The Old French word utensile came from the Latin ūtensilis, meaning “useful.” The modern French word is ustensile. The s cropped in probably because of a comparison with the word user, since utensils are objects you use to do things!
The basic meaning of the word might not have changed a great deal from its Latin origins, but obviously the way in which it’s used has altered quite a bit. Changes like this show how a word can be changed according to the purpose it needs to serve in society, and how people want to use it at any given time.
11. War
Although the French word guerre (war) might look completely different from the English “war,” they may be more closely related than you thought. Like the Cornish in the United Kingdom, the ancient cultures of the northern Breton region had their own language, which differed hugely from Old French.
The Old North French word for war, werre, looks much more similar to English than the current French guerre. It’s therefore possible that in this case it was Breton French that influenced English.
Many very English-sounding words are merely altered versions of their French origins.
Considering the proximity of the two countries, an overlap of the two languages was probably an inevitability.
Thanks to this, there’s more shared vocabulary than you may have realized, and it’s not all so obvious.
The next time you talk to someone in English, pay attention.
You’re probably using a large number of French words without even realizing it!
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Click here to get a copy. (Download)
You’re probably aware that we regularly use plenty of French words in English.
But did you know that English is so close to the French language, that around 30% of English words come from the language of love?
Some of these French phrases in English (otherwise known as cognates!) are borrowed directly from the French language, while others have evolved from French origins.
We’ve put together some responses to some of the most common questions about the French presence in the English language for you, plus 99 examples of how English words didn’t fall too far from the French tree.
Everything you’ve ever wanted, right?
Why are there French words in the English language?
The origin of the English language is a topic linguists love to debate.
Although English is a Germanic language, it shares a lot of vocabulary with French – a Romance language.
But why?
The Norman Conquest of 1066 was a key event that led to French words being used in England.
Following the conquest, England was ruled by the Normans who spoke a northern form of Old French called Anglo-Norman French.
Under Norman rule, Anglo-Norman French began to influence the language of administration, law and culture in England, and hence making its mark on the English language.
Since then, French phrases and words – funny quirks and all – continued to make their way into the English language.
And French isn’t the only language that has made its mark on the English language. There are plenty of Spanish words in English, and a good handful of Japanese words in English, too.
How many French words are there in English?
There exists around 7,000 French words in the English language at present.
Believe it or not, though, there were plenty more English words that came from French (and typically Latin) roots originally – around 10,000, to be exact.
Do any examples come to mind? At this point, I’m sure you’re desperate to see some examples of English words with French origins…
Let’s start with 99 (we thought any more might be a bit much!).
Here are 99 common French words used in English, and their meaning
- Allowance – from the Old French word alouance (payment)
- Apostrophe – from the French word apostrophe
- Attaché – from the French word attaché (attached)
- Apéritif – from the French word apéritif
- Avant-garde – from the French word avant-garde
- Aviation – from the French word aviation
- Bachelor – from the Anglo-Norman word bacheler (bachelier in modern French)
- Baguette – from the French word baguette (stick)
- Ballet – from the French word ballet
- Beret – from the French word béret
- Bon voyage – from the French phrase bon voyage (have a good journey)
- Brunette – from the French word brunette
- Bureau – from the French word bureau (desk, office)
- Cabaret – from the French word cabaret
- Cadet – from the French word cadet
- Champagne – from the French word champagne
- Chauffeur – from the French word chauffeur
- Chic – from the French word chic (elegant)
- Cliché – from the French word cliché
- Connoisseur – from the French word connoisseur
- Cul-de-sac – from the French word cul-de-sac (bottom of the bag/sack)
- Debris – from the French word débris (broken, crumbled)
- Déjà vu – from the French words déjà (already) and vu (seen – past participle of ‘voir’)
- Delegate – from the Old French word delegat
- Detour – from the French word détour (from détourner)
- Dossier – from the French word dossier
- Eau de toilette – from the French word eau de toilette
- Elite – from the Old French word elit (chosen)
- Energy – from the Middle French word énergie
- En route – from the French en route
- Envisage – from the French word envisager
- Expatriate – from the French word expatrier
- Facade – from the French word façade
- Faux, as in faux fur – from the French word faux (false)
- Faux-pas – from the French word faux pas
- Fiancé – from the French word fiancé
- Film noir – from the French word film noir (a film genre)
- Gallery – from the Old French word galerie
- Gastronomy – from the French word gastronomie
- Gateau – from the French word gâteau
- Gazette – from the French word gazette
- Heritage – from the Old French word eritage (héritage in modern French)
- Homage – from the Old French word homage
- Hotel – from the French word hôtel
- Identity – from the Middle French word identité
- Illusion – from the Old French word illusion
- Insult – from the Middle French words insult (noun) and insulter (verb)
- Irony – from the Middle French word ironie
- Jubilee – from the Middle French word jubile (modern French jubilé)
- Kilogram – from the French word kilogramme
- Lacrosse – from the Canadian French word la crosse (the stick)
- Laissez-faire – from the French word laissez-faire (leave things to take their course)
- Liaison – from the French word liaison
- Literature – from the Old French word littérature
- Machine – from the Middle French word machine
- Magnificent – from the Middle French word magnificent
- Maisonette – from the French word maisonette
- Massage – from the French word massage
- Menu – from the French word menu
- Metabolism – from the French word métabolisme
- Metro – from the French word métro
- Musketeer – from the French word mousquetaire
- Navy – from the Old French word navie
- Neutral – from the Middle French word neutral
- Nocturnal – from the Middle French word nocturnal
- Novel – from the Old French word novel
- Occasion – from the Middle French word occasion
- Omelette – from the French word omelette
- Optimism – from the French word optimisme
- Papier-mâché – from the French word papier-mâché
- Parasol – from the French word parasol
- Poetic – from the Middle French word poétique
- Premiere – from the French word première
- Purify – from the Old French word purifier
- Recipient – from the Middle French word récipient
- Rendez-vous – from the French word rendez-vous (appointment)
- Reservoir – from the French word ‘réservoir’ (collection place)
- Restaurant – from the French word restaurant
- Ricochet – from the French word ricochet
- Rich – from the French word riche
- Ridicule – from the French word ridicule
- Risqué – from the French word risqué
- Sabotage – from the French word sabotage
- Salad – from the French word salade
- Sentiment – from the Old French word sentement
- Silhouette – from the French word silhouette
- Solicitor – from the Middle French word soliciteur
- Souvenir – from the French word souvenir (memory)
- Soufflé – from the French word soufflé
- Soup – from the French word soupe
- Technique – from the French word technique
- Television – from the French word télévision
- Tournament – from the Old French word tornoiement (tournoiement in modern French)
- Uniform – from the Middle French word uniforme
- Utensil – from the Old French word utensile
- Valid – from the Middle French word valide
- Variety – from the Middle French word varieté
- Vinaigrette – from the French word vinaigrette
- Zest – from the French word zeste
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If you’re an English speaker and you ever thought French was difficult (or a French speaker and ever thought English was difficult!) hopefully, this is something to reassure you: no matter whether you’ve got your French pronunciation accent down or not, the learning process may be easier than you think!
You already have a good understanding of so many French words – why not learn even more today?
There’s so much more to French than these 99 words
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French has two genders, feminine and masculine. These are used not only for people, but for objects, such as tables, chairs, pens, and paper, as well as more abstract ideas, such as honesty, exuberance, and courage. Any noun will have a gender and the adjectives and determiners that modify these nouns will have to agree with them, meaning that adjectives and determiners also have gender.
This may seem like a lot for language learners who speak languages that don’t use gender for things, or even for referring to people in the third person. English, for example, does not attribute gender to tables and chairs, but does use the personal pronouns “she” and “he” to refer to people.
French grammar behaves the way it does because it evolved from Latin, which also attributes gender to objects and ideas as well as people. There is, in fact, a third gender in Latin, which is neuter, so we can be glad to only have to learn two genders in French!
Even if you are familiar with other Romance languages which, having also developed from Latin, do use gender for things, you might find that remembering the gender of French words is a bit more difficult, since the endings don’t always give enough clues.
Looking at the Italian language, we find a high percentage of feminine words ending in “a” when singular and “e” when plural, and a high percentage of masculine words ending in “o” when singular and “i” when plural: la ragazza, le ragazze; la donna, le donne; la farfalla, le farfalle and il bambino, i bambini; l’uomo, gli uomini; l’uccello, gli uccelli are some examples.
There are other cases that are not uncommon, such as masculine singular words ending in “e” (as with il mare), but there is more consistency in the endings of gender in Italian than in French; la chaise, la fin, la main, la radio, la clef (clé in its modern spelling), l’idée, l’atmosphère, and la tribu are all feminine while le tableau, le début, le pied, l’écran, l’amour, le café, le climat, and le sentiment are all masculine (luckily the plural form of the definite articles used for all of these words is “les”).
What kinds of patterns can we draw out of this variety of endings to help us remember which words are feminine and which words are masculine?
Tips to Remember the Gender of French Words
Here are some things to remember when approaching gender in French:
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When referring to people, the words will take on the gender of the person they refer to, e.g., la fille, la reine, la cousine, la sœur; le garçon, le roi, le cousin, le frère (compare this to the German word das Mädchen, a neuter word for “girl”).
-
There is a large group of nouns and adjectives whose feminine and masculine forms are distinguished by the presence or absence of a final “e”, e.g., cousine as opposed to cousin, as we see above, or amie as opposed to ami, and with adjectives that also reflect this pattern, une grande amie, un grand ami.
-
Sometimes the final consonants of a masculine word are doubled before the “e” is added to form the feminine version, resulting in a denasalized vowel sound preceding a final consonant sound: un plat italien, une recette italienne.
-
Nationalities tend to follow the patterns we’ve just described:
| allemand → allemande |
| australien → australienne |
| brésilien → brésilienne |
| chinois → chinoise |
| coréen → coréenne |
| espagnol → espagnole |
| français → française |
| haïtien → haïtienne |
| italien → italienne |
| marocain → marocaine |
| sénégalais → sénégalaise |
- There are feminine words with endings that incorporate more changes from the masculine form before the addition of the final e. Here are some common examples:
| eux → euse | heureux → heureuse |
|---|---|
| oux → ouse | époux → épouse |
| eur → euse | chanteur → chanteuse |
| teur → trice | acteur → actrice |
| deur → drice | ambassadeur → ambassadrice |
| er → ère | cher → chère |
| f → ve | neuf → neuve |
Knowing these endings will help when you come across new words:
Scenario #1: You are pleased with the general feel of a restaurant you have just walked into and remark that “L’atmosphère du restaurant est … ?” (Since we recognize the “ère” ending as feminine, we can describe the atmosphere of the restaurant as “bonne”, “vivante”, “chaleureuse” – all adjectives with feminine endings we recognize.
Scenario #2: Dessert at the restaurant includes a fruit plate and you comment that “L’abricot est … ?” (We recognize a vowel + t ending which looks like a masculine form of the combinations we have seen above, so good choices for describing the apricot in this phrase would be the masculine words “délicieux”, “bon”, or “cher”.)
There are, however, feminine words that might look masculine – why is this? Perhaps because they end with consonants in their written form that signal nasalized vowel sounds, as with the word “maison”. Or perhaps because there is an -e at the end of the word, as with the word “courage”.
The -age ending is actually a masculine ending in French. Here are some endings that tend to be of a specific gender:
| Feminine | Masculine |
|---|---|
| -aille | -age |
| -ance | -ail |
| -ée | -é |
| -eille | -eau* |
| -ouille | -is |
| -onde | -isme |
| -une | -ment |
| -té | -oir |
| -tion | -ois |
| -tude | -ueil |
-
Remember that “eau” by itself is feminine. Think of the “eau gazeuse” labels you see on sparkling water.
-
There are always exceptions in French, as there are in any language, so the trick is to remember patterns that are 80 or 90% accurate, in addition to memorizing the gender of words.
What helps us memorize French grammar rules like gender? Memorizing units of language places words in context and gives models for language, so instead of memorizing lists of specific words, try memorizing words along with other words that indicate gender such as:
-
Articles – indefinite singular articles work best, as they don’t contract with words beginning with vowels that may follow them – remembering “une abeille” will indicate gender more than “l’abeille”, since the l’ will work the same for feminine and masculine nouns.
-
Adjectives – remember nouns along with any adjective that modifies them, such as “eau gazeuse” from above, or “grand amour” – these are common phrases that people tend to use often and the repetition will reinforce initial efforts to memorize the word.
Another thing to remember is that loan words, words adopted from foreign languages with little to no modification, tend to be masculine, as with le bonzaï, le kébab, and even le yoga, a word that might appear feminine to learners who are already familiar with Italian and Spanish, languages that have many feminine words ending in the letter a. (Note that even in Italian and Spanish, the word “yoga” is masculine.)
It may help to think of the masculine gender in French as a more general way to designate things, whereas the feminine gender is more specific. Remember how many women together can be described as “amusantes” (the feminine plural form of the word for “fun” or “amusing”) whereas if men were to join them, they would, as a mixed crowd, be described as “amusants”? Using the masculine gender for loan words can also be seen as a way to refer to things that are part of a larger context, a context that includes more than what came out of French-speaking regions of the world.
Professions
The general terms used for professions are also traditionally masculine, although there has been some shifting to reflect the changing demographics of the workforce. Many occupations were traditionally held by men, which is reflected by the terms used to designate them, such as le professeur, l’ambassadeur, le médecin, le président, le soldat, and l’ingénieur.
We can still use the masculine forms to refer to both women and men, although now that many women hold these positions, the language is also changing to reflect this. Some words that are masculine lend themselves easily to feminine forms. Président is quite easy to “feminize” by simply adding an “e”, giving you Mme la Présidente. Others might have initially looked a bit strange, but are widely used now: la professeure, l’ingénieure, la factrice, la clerque.
Still others run into more complex issues, such as médecin, since adding an e, which would occur with similarly constructed words (capucin, capucine), would result in médecine, which refers to the domain of study rather than those individuals who practice medicine, e.g., “J’étudie la médecine pour devenir médecin”. In this case, you can either use the default masculine form or else use the feminine article before the masculine word, e.g., “Le médecin avec qui j’ai rendez-vous s’appelle Anne Lestringant” and “C’est la médecin de mon ami”. You can say femme médecin, but this might sound dated, as it could point to a woman doctor being an exceptional case rather than the norm.
Then there are the words for professions already ending in an “e muet” which, as with other nouns and adjectives ending in an “e muet” require no spelling change, so you would just change the article preceding it: le ministre, la ministre, idem, le ministre agréable, la ministre agréable.
Approaching the issue of gender in the French language may take a bit more effort than in other languages, but there are patterns that will guide you and knowing these patterns, along with repeating them often, is a way to familiarize yourself with the gender of words in French. Remember each gender as a category, and each noun, pronoun, adjective, and determiner as being part of either one or the other category. Also, while producing phrases that correctly use gender might take a fair amount of effort, keeping track of who says what and what happened to whom while listening to someone else might actually be easier, since all the gender agreement distinguishes the different elements of phrases and their characteristics and will not get lost, even in the longest and most complex sentences.
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