Fiancé
/fiËÉËn.seÉȘ/noun
A man who is engaged to be married.
Did you know?The feminine form âfiancĂ©eâ preserves French grammatical gender, while English adopted both terms in the nineteenth century.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*bheidh-
âTo trust, rely on, or have faith inâ
Classical Latin
Latin
fides
âTrust, faith, confidence, or a pledged wordâ
Medieval Latin
Latin
fidare
âTo pledge faith or promiseâ
Old French
Old French
fiance
âA promise, pledge, or trustâ
12thâ13th Century
Old French
fiancer
âTo betroth or promise in marriageâ
19th Century
French/English
fiancé
âA man engaged to be marriedâ
Modern English
English
fiancé
âA man who is engaged to be marriedâ