Manque
/mɑːŋk/noun
A lack, deficiency, or unfulfilled quality; often used in the phrase artiste manqué for someone who failed to become an artist.
Did you know?French manqué originally described something defective or incomplete, while English later popularized it for frustrated identities such as an artiste manqué.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*man-
“Hand; the reconstructed root associated with the ancient vocabulary of the hand.”
Classical Latin
Latin
mancus
“Maimed, defective, or lacking a hand; the precise connection with manus, “hand,” is traditionally proposed but not completely certain.”
Medieval Latin
Latin
mancare
“To be defective or lacking; a later verb form that contributed to the Romance descendants.”
13th–14th Century
Italian
mancare
“To lack, be missing, or fail; the source of French manquer.”
Old French
Old French
manquer
“To lack, miss, fail, or be absent.”
18th Century
French
manqué
“Failed, frustrated, or unfulfilled; literally the past participle of manquer.”
19th Century
English
manque
“A lack or deficiency, while manqué became an English adjective for an unrealized or failed vocation.”
Explore more surprising origins