Etymology Explorer › French

Where does “seigneur” come from?

seigneur (French) comes from Middle French seigneur, from Old French seignor, from Latin senior, from Latin senex, from Proto-Indo-European sénos — old.

seigneur (French): lord; seigneur

Definitions

  1. lord; seigneur

Ancestry of “seigneur”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Frenchseigneurlord; sire
2Old Frenchseignorlord; sire; master
3Latinseniorolder, elder; rather old; a lord, sir; an abbot
4Latinsenexold, aged, elderly; old person, old man, old...
5Proto-Indo-Europeansénosold

Words derived from “seigneur”

  • Monsignor
  • monseigneur
  • seigneuresse
  • monsignore
  • сеньор
  • coseigneur
  • coseigneurial
  • monseigneur
  • seigneuresse
  • sinioro
Every word from Proto-Indo-European sénos →