Fiance

How to spell fiance

6 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce fiance

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does fiance mean?

1. nounA man who is engaged to be married.

Fiance in a sentence

• She introduced her fiance to her parents over dinner.

• Her fiance proposed during their holiday in Rome.

Where does fiance come from?

Language of origin: French

This word came directly from French in the mid 1800s, where fiancé is the past participle of the verb fiancer, meaning 'to betroth' or 'to promise in marriage'. That verb grew from the Old French noun fiance, meaning 'a pledge, a promise, or trust', which in turn traces back to the Latin verb fidere, meaning 'to trust'. The same trusting root sits inside familiar English words such as 'confide', 'fidelity', and 'faith', all of which share the idea of placing trust in someone. In its strict French form the masculine 'fiancé' (the man who is engaged) carries an accent and is distinguished from the feminine 'fiancée' with a doubled final e, and that gendered pairing is exactly why the ending trips up English writers. The deeper memory hook is that becoming engaged was originally a matter of giving your trusted word, your fiance, your pledge.

How the word is built

• fianc- (from French fiancer: to betroth, promise)
• -e (French masculine ending)