plaisir (French)

Where does "plaisir" come from?

The French noun 'plaisir' traces its roots back to the Latin verb 'placēre,' which meant to please or be acceptable. Over centuries, it moved through Middle and Old French, eventually evolving into the modern term for the state of enjoyment we recognize today.

Full etymology tree

• plaisir (French), 'pleasure'
  • inherited plaisir (Middle French), 'pleasure'
    • inherited plaisir (Old French), 'pleasure'
      • inherited placēre (Latin), 'second-person singular present passive subjunctive of plācō'

Ancestors

• plaisir (Middle French)
• plaisir (Old French)
• placeo (Latin)

Cognates and doublets

• plaer (Catalan)
• plaser (Occitan)

Descendants and derived words

• avec plaisir (French)
• faire plaisir (French)
• partie de plaisir (French)
• prendre plaisir (French)
• tout le plaisir est pour moi (French)
• varier les plaisirs (French)

Updated July 2026

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