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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 fiancée in a Sentence
Leonard Greene, New York Daily News, 6 Feb. 2025
Two others who received diplomatic posts are Kimberly Guilfoyle, former fiancee of Donald Trump Jr., and Peter Lamelas, a member of his Palm Beach private club.
—Jeremy Yurow, USA TODAY, 17 Jan. 2025
There on the kitchen floor, their arms wrapped around each other, were Smith’s son, James Addams Jr., 29, and his fiancee, 31.
—Laura Bauer, Kansas City Star, 16 Jan. 2025
Net worth: $251 billion Giving as percent of net worth: 1.6%
The biggest slice of 2024 grants from the Amazon founder and his fiancee Lauren Sánchez—$280 million—were made via the Bezos Earth Fund: a $10 billion, decade-long commitment announced in 2020 to drive solutions to climate change.
—Forbes Wealth Team, Forbes, 3 Feb. 2025
The stunning move comes after Bonner’s fiancee, five-time All-Star Alyssa Thomas, was sent to the Phoenix Mercury in a sign-and-trade deal after 11 years with the Sun.
—Emily Adams, Hartford Courant, 2 Feb. 2025
The issue began when the groom's fiancee, Emily, decided not to invite the poster's wife, Lisa, to their upcoming wedding.
—Jonathan Granoff, Newsweek, 29 Jan. 2025
Zion Perry, Kevin's fiancee, who also went to MIT.
Det.
—Anne-Marie Green, CBS News, 25 Jan. 2025
My fiancee wants to offer to host them when my parents are here.
—Judith Martin, The Mercury News, 22 Jan. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Fiancée.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fianc%C3%A9e. Accessed 21 Feb. 2025.
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fiancée
noun
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