pleasure (English)

Where does "pleasure" come from?

The English word 'pleasure' descends from the Middle English 'plaisir', which was adopted from the Old French 'plesir' or 'plaisir'[1][4]. This term originated as an infinitive form used as a noun, tracing back to the Latin 'placeo' meaning 'to please' or 'to seem good'[1][4]. The root of this Latin verb is found in the Proto-Indo-European '*pleh₂-k-', which carries the sense of 'wide and flat'[1]. During the Early Modern English period, the spelling was altered through an accommodation to the suffix '-ure'[1].

Open questions

The connection between the Latin verb meaning to please and the Proto-Indo-European root meaning wide and flat is reconstructed and remains a subject of linguistic discussion. [1]

Full etymology tree

pleasure (English), 'pleased to meet you, "It's my pleasure"'
- derived pleasur (Early Modern English)
  - inherited plaisir (Middle English)
    - inherited plaisir (Old French), 'pleasure'
      - inherited placere (Latin), 'second-person singular present passive subjunctive of plācō'
        inherited placeo (Latin), 'to be pleasing or agreeable to; to please, to be nice; to be welcome or acceptable; to satisfy, suit (in a mental rather than a sensual way)'
        inherited *pleh₂-k- (Proto-Indo-European)
- suffix -ure (English), 'A process; a condition; a result of an action.'

Ancestors

*pleh₂- (Proto-Indo-European)
-ure (English)
plesir (Old French)
placeo (Latin)

Cognates and doublets

plezier (Dutch)

Sources

Updated August 2026

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Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris