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Promises, Promises: The History of Affidavit, Affiance, & Fiancé
Affidavit refers to a written promise, and its Latin roots connect it to another kind of promise in English. It comes from a past tense form of the Latin verb affidare, meaning “to pledge”; in Latin, affidavit translates to “he or she has made a pledge.”
Affidare is also the root of affiance, an archaic English noun meaning “trust, faith, confidence,” “marriage contract or promise,” or a meaning that has completely fallen from use, “close or intimate relationship.” More familiar to modern English speakers is the verb affiance, meaning “to promise in marriage” or “to betroth.” It usually appears as a fancy-sounding participial adjective:
I like to give affianced friends a copy of Rebecca Mead’s book “One Perfect Day,” which exposes the ridiculous wedding industry.
—Mollie Hemingway, The Federalist, 7 October 2014
Affiance came through French to English in the 14th century, and, nearly 500 years later, the related French words fiancé and fiancée were added to English. Etymologically speaking, a fiancé or fiancée is a “promised one.”
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Fiancé or fiancée?
People may well be anxious, when referring to their betrothed, to make sure that they use the correct term. So the fact that fiancé and fiancée are pronounced exactly the same may cause some degree of worry and uncertainty. These two words are borrowed directly from French, in which language they have equivalent but gendered meanings: fiancé refers to a man who is engaged to be married, and fiancée refers to a woman. We have, as of this date, no evidence suggesting that the meaning of either word is affected by the gender of the person to whom the fiancé or fiancée is engaged.
Examples of fiancé in a Sentence
Joseph Epstein, Newsweek, 10 Dec. 2024
In 2022, Dockery's fiance John Dineen died at age 34 after being diagnosed with a rare form of cancer.
—Janine Henni, People.com, 6 Dec. 2024
There may be other ways to cut costs rather than shorten the guest list, particularly if your fiance feels his family members might feel slighted if they aren’t invited.
—Jeanne Phillips, The Mercury News, 18 Nov. 2024
We were joined by Spring’s fiance, Matt Stevens, friends Kaley Deal and Cody Peacock, and my girlfriend, Karissa Bellile.
—Patrick Connolly, Orlando Sentinel, 28 Nov. 2024
Here's how prosecutors say things unfolded that evening Police said Torres-Betancourt, 27, was on her way to a Christmas party with her fiance and 7-year-old son when gunfire erupted on the 1300 block of South 29th Street.
—Chris Ramirez, Journal Sentinel, 16 Oct. 2024
Linh and her fiance drove to Madison County last night to witness it at the Hogback Covered Bridge.
—Jason Clayworth, Axios, 11 Oct. 2024
After a four year delay, Princess Theodora of Greece is set to, at last, marry her fiance Matthew Kumar in a royal wedding that’s just days away.
—Rachel Burchfield, Peoplemag, 26 Sep. 2024
The night before Amelia and her fiance Benji’s wedding, however, Amelia’s best friend and maid of honor, Merritt Monaco, is found dead on the beach.
—Jason Pham, StyleCaster, 5 Sep. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Fiancé.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fianc%C3%A9. Accessed 22 Dec. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
fiancé
noun
from French fiancé "man engaged to be married," derived from early French fiancé, past participle of fiancer "to promise," derived from Latin fidere "to trust" — related to faith
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