Dossier
/ˈdɒs.i.eɪ/noun
A file or collection of documents about a person, topic, or case.
Did you know?The word comes from French, where a *dos* is a “back,” so a *dossier* originally referred to papers labeled on the back or gathered on a backing board—bureaucracy with a literal spine.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*dʰews-
“back, spine”
Latin
Latin
dorsum
“back, ridge”
Old French
Old French
dos
“back”
16th–17th Century
French
dossier
“a bundle of papers tied or fastened together, especially with the title on the back”
Modern English
English
dossier
“a file of documents on a person or subject”