"-esse" meaning in French

See -esse in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Suffix

IPA: /ɛs/ Audio: LL-Q150 (fra)-Lyokoï--esse.wav , LL-Q150 (fra)-Jérémy-Günther-Heinz Jähnick--esse.wav Forms: -esses [plural]
Etymology: Inherited from Old French -ece, from Latin -itia. The modern spelling is due to a phonetic merger with etymology 2; see below. Related to -ise. Etymology templates: {{yesno||i|I}} I, {{glossary|Inherited}} Inherited, {{inh|fr|fro|-ece|||g=|g2=|g3=|id=|lit=|nocat=|pos=|sc=|sort=|tr=|ts=}} Old French -ece, {{inh+|fr|fro|-ece}} Inherited from Old French -ece, {{inh|fr|la|-itia}} Latin -itia Head templates: {{fr-noun|f}} -esse f (noun-forming suffix, plural -esses)
  1. used to form nouns describing the condition of being something (-ness, -ity, etc.) Tags: feminine, morpheme
    Sense id: en--esse-fr-suffix-fr:quality Categories (other): French entries with incorrect language header Disambiguation of French entries with incorrect language header: 32 38 30
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Etymology number: 1

Suffix

IPA: /ɛs/ Audio: LL-Q150 (fra)-Lyokoï--esse.wav , LL-Q150 (fra)-Jérémy-Günther-Heinz Jähnick--esse.wav Forms: -esses [plural]
Etymology: Inherited from Middle French -esse, from Old French -esse, from Late Latin -issa, from Ancient Greek -ισσα (-issa). Etymology templates: {{yesno||i|I}} I, {{glossary|Inherited}} Inherited, {{inh|fr|frm|-esse|||g=|g2=|g3=|id=|lit=|nocat=|pos=|sc=|sort=|tr=|ts=}} Middle French -esse, {{inh+|fr|frm|-esse}} Inherited from Middle French -esse, {{inh|fr|fro|-esse}} Old French -esse, {{inh|fr|LL.|-issa}} Late Latin -issa, {{der|fr|grc|-ισσα}} Ancient Greek -ισσα (-issa) Head templates: {{fr-noun|f}} -esse f (noun-forming suffix, plural -esses)
  1. -ess (female equivalent) Tags: feminine, morpheme
    Sense id: en--esse-fr-suffix-fr:female Categories (other): French entries with incorrect language header Disambiguation of French entries with incorrect language header: 32 38 30
  2. -ess (wife of) Tags: feminine, morpheme
    Sense id: en--esse-fr-suffix-fr:wife Categories (other): French entries with incorrect language header Disambiguation of French entries with incorrect language header: 32 38 30
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Etymology number: 2
{
  "etymology_number": 1,
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "",
        "2": "i",
        "3": "I"
      },
      "expansion": "I",
      "name": "yesno"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "Inherited"
      },
      "expansion": "Inherited",
      "name": "glossary"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "fr",
        "2": "fro",
        "3": "-ece",
        "4": "",
        "5": "",
        "g": "",
        "g2": "",
        "g3": "",
        "id": "",
        "lit": "",
        "nocat": "",
        "pos": "",
        "sc": "",
        "sort": "",
        "tr": "",
        "ts": ""
      },
      "expansion": "Old French -ece",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "fr",
        "2": "fro",
        "3": "-ece"
      },
      "expansion": "Inherited from Old French -ece",
      "name": "inh+"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "fr",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "-itia"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin -itia",
      "name": "inh"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Inherited from Old French -ece, from Latin -itia. The modern spelling is due to a phonetic merger with etymology 2; see below. Related to -ise.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "-esses",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "f"
      },
      "expansion": "-esse f (noun-forming suffix, plural -esses)",
      "name": "fr-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "French",
  "lang_code": "fr",
  "pos": "suffix",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "32 38 30",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "French entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "used to form nouns describing the condition of being something (-ness, -ity, etc.)"
      ],
      "id": "en--esse-fr-suffix-fr:quality",
      "links": [
        [
          "-ness",
          "-ness#English"
        ],
        [
          "-ity",
          "-ity#English"
        ]
      ],
      "senseid": [
        "fr:quality"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "feminine",
        "morpheme"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ɛs/"
    },
    {
      "audio": "LL-Q150 (fra)-Lyokoï--esse.wav",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/4/46/LL-Q150_%28fra%29-Lyoko%C3%AF--esse.wav/LL-Q150_%28fra%29-Lyoko%C3%AF--esse.wav.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/4/46/LL-Q150_%28fra%29-Lyoko%C3%AF--esse.wav/LL-Q150_%28fra%29-Lyoko%C3%AF--esse.wav.ogg"
    },
    {
      "audio": "LL-Q150 (fra)-Jérémy-Günther-Heinz Jähnick--esse.wav",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/2/23/LL-Q150_%28fra%29-J%C3%A9r%C3%A9my-G%C3%BCnther-Heinz_J%C3%A4hnick--esse.wav/LL-Q150_%28fra%29-J%C3%A9r%C3%A9my-G%C3%BCnther-Heinz_J%C3%A4hnick--esse.wav.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/2/23/LL-Q150_%28fra%29-J%C3%A9r%C3%A9my-G%C3%BCnther-Heinz_J%C3%A4hnick--esse.wav/LL-Q150_%28fra%29-J%C3%A9r%C3%A9my-G%C3%BCnther-Heinz_J%C3%A4hnick--esse.wav.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "word": "-esse"
}

{
  "etymology_number": 2,
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "",
        "2": "i",
        "3": "I"
      },
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      "name": "yesno"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "Inherited"
      },
      "expansion": "Inherited",
      "name": "glossary"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "fr",
        "2": "frm",
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        "4": "",
        "5": "",
        "g": "",
        "g2": "",
        "g3": "",
        "id": "",
        "lit": "",
        "nocat": "",
        "pos": "",
        "sc": "",
        "sort": "",
        "tr": "",
        "ts": ""
      },
      "expansion": "Middle French -esse",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "fr",
        "2": "frm",
        "3": "-esse"
      },
      "expansion": "Inherited from Middle French -esse",
      "name": "inh+"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "fr",
        "2": "fro",
        "3": "-esse"
      },
      "expansion": "Old French -esse",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "fr",
        "2": "LL.",
        "3": "-issa"
      },
      "expansion": "Late Latin -issa",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "fr",
        "2": "grc",
        "3": "-ισσα"
      },
      "expansion": "Ancient Greek -ισσα (-issa)",
      "name": "der"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Inherited from Middle French -esse, from Old French -esse, from Late Latin -issa, from Ancient Greek -ισσα (-issa).",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "-esses",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "f"
      },
      "expansion": "-esse f (noun-forming suffix, plural -esses)",
      "name": "fr-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "French",
  "lang_code": "fr",
  "pos": "suffix",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "32 38 30",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "French entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "-ess (female equivalent)"
      ],
      "id": "en--esse-fr-suffix-fr:female",
      "links": [
        [
          "-ess",
          "-ess"
        ]
      ],
      "senseid": [
        "fr:female"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "feminine",
        "morpheme"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "32 38 30",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "French entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "-ess (wife of)"
      ],
      "id": "en--esse-fr-suffix-fr:wife",
      "links": [
        [
          "-ess",
          "-ess"
        ]
      ],
      "senseid": [
        "fr:wife"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "feminine",
        "morpheme"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ɛs/"
    },
    {
      "audio": "LL-Q150 (fra)-Lyokoï--esse.wav",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/4/46/LL-Q150_%28fra%29-Lyoko%C3%AF--esse.wav/LL-Q150_%28fra%29-Lyoko%C3%AF--esse.wav.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/4/46/LL-Q150_%28fra%29-Lyoko%C3%AF--esse.wav/LL-Q150_%28fra%29-Lyoko%C3%AF--esse.wav.ogg"
    },
    {
      "audio": "LL-Q150 (fra)-Jérémy-Günther-Heinz Jähnick--esse.wav",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/2/23/LL-Q150_%28fra%29-J%C3%A9r%C3%A9my-G%C3%BCnther-Heinz_J%C3%A4hnick--esse.wav/LL-Q150_%28fra%29-J%C3%A9r%C3%A9my-G%C3%BCnther-Heinz_J%C3%A4hnick--esse.wav.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/2/23/LL-Q150_%28fra%29-J%C3%A9r%C3%A9my-G%C3%BCnther-Heinz_J%C3%A4hnick--esse.wav/LL-Q150_%28fra%29-J%C3%A9r%C3%A9my-G%C3%BCnther-Heinz_J%C3%A4hnick--esse.wav.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "word": "-esse"
}
{
  "categories": [
    "French 1-syllable words",
    "French countable suffixes",
    "French entries with incorrect language header",
    "French feminine suffixes",
    "French lemmas",
    "French noun-forming suffixes",
    "French suffixes",
    "French terms derived from Ancient Greek",
    "French terms derived from Late Latin",
    "French terms derived from Latin",
    "French terms derived from Middle French",
    "French terms derived from Old French",
    "French terms inherited from Late Latin",
    "French terms inherited from Latin",
    "French terms inherited from Middle French",
    "French terms inherited from Old French",
    "French terms with IPA pronunciation",
    "Middle French entries with incorrect language header",
    "Middle French lemmas",
    "Middle French suffixes",
    "Middle French terms derived from Ancient Greek",
    "Middle French terms derived from Late Latin",
    "Middle French terms derived from Old French",
    "Middle French terms inherited from Late Latin",
    "Middle French terms inherited from Old French",
    "Pages using catfix",
    "Pages with 7 entries",
    "Pages with entries"
  ],
  "etymology_number": 1,
  "etymology_templates": [
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    {
      "args": {
        "1": "Inherited"
      },
      "expansion": "Inherited",
      "name": "glossary"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "fr",
        "2": "fro",
        "3": "-ece",
        "4": "",
        "5": "",
        "g": "",
        "g2": "",
        "g3": "",
        "id": "",
        "lit": "",
        "nocat": "",
        "pos": "",
        "sc": "",
        "sort": "",
        "tr": "",
        "ts": ""
      },
      "expansion": "Old French -ece",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "fr",
        "2": "fro",
        "3": "-ece"
      },
      "expansion": "Inherited from Old French -ece",
      "name": "inh+"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "fr",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "-itia"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin -itia",
      "name": "inh"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Inherited from Old French -ece, from Latin -itia. The modern spelling is due to a phonetic merger with etymology 2; see below. Related to -ise.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "-esses",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "f"
      },
      "expansion": "-esse f (noun-forming suffix, plural -esses)",
      "name": "fr-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "French",
  "lang_code": "fr",
  "pos": "suffix",
  "senses": [
    {
      "glosses": [
        "used to form nouns describing the condition of being something (-ness, -ity, etc.)"
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "-ness",
          "-ness#English"
        ],
        [
          "-ity",
          "-ity#English"
        ]
      ],
      "senseid": [
        "fr:quality"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "feminine",
        "morpheme"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ɛs/"
    },
    {
      "audio": "LL-Q150 (fra)-Lyokoï--esse.wav",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/4/46/LL-Q150_%28fra%29-Lyoko%C3%AF--esse.wav/LL-Q150_%28fra%29-Lyoko%C3%AF--esse.wav.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/4/46/LL-Q150_%28fra%29-Lyoko%C3%AF--esse.wav/LL-Q150_%28fra%29-Lyoko%C3%AF--esse.wav.ogg"
    },
    {
      "audio": "LL-Q150 (fra)-Jérémy-Günther-Heinz Jähnick--esse.wav",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/2/23/LL-Q150_%28fra%29-J%C3%A9r%C3%A9my-G%C3%BCnther-Heinz_J%C3%A4hnick--esse.wav/LL-Q150_%28fra%29-J%C3%A9r%C3%A9my-G%C3%BCnther-Heinz_J%C3%A4hnick--esse.wav.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/2/23/LL-Q150_%28fra%29-J%C3%A9r%C3%A9my-G%C3%BCnther-Heinz_J%C3%A4hnick--esse.wav/LL-Q150_%28fra%29-J%C3%A9r%C3%A9my-G%C3%BCnther-Heinz_J%C3%A4hnick--esse.wav.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "word": "-esse"
}

{
  "categories": [
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    "French countable suffixes",
    "French entries with incorrect language header",
    "French feminine suffixes",
    "French lemmas",
    "French noun-forming suffixes",
    "French suffixes",
    "French terms derived from Ancient Greek",
    "French terms derived from Late Latin",
    "French terms derived from Middle French",
    "French terms derived from Old French",
    "French terms inherited from Late Latin",
    "French terms inherited from Middle French",
    "French terms inherited from Old French",
    "French terms with IPA pronunciation",
    "Middle French entries with incorrect language header",
    "Middle French lemmas",
    "Middle French suffixes",
    "Middle French terms derived from Ancient Greek",
    "Middle French terms derived from Late Latin",
    "Middle French terms derived from Old French",
    "Middle French terms inherited from Late Latin",
    "Middle French terms inherited from Old French",
    "Pages using catfix",
    "Pages with 7 entries",
    "Pages with entries"
  ],
  "etymology_number": 2,
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        "1": "Inherited"
      },
      "expansion": "Inherited",
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    },
    {
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        "2": "frm",
        "3": "-esse",
        "4": "",
        "5": "",
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        "g2": "",
        "g3": "",
        "id": "",
        "lit": "",
        "nocat": "",
        "pos": "",
        "sc": "",
        "sort": "",
        "tr": "",
        "ts": ""
      },
      "expansion": "Middle French -esse",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "fr",
        "2": "frm",
        "3": "-esse"
      },
      "expansion": "Inherited from Middle French -esse",
      "name": "inh+"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "fr",
        "2": "fro",
        "3": "-esse"
      },
      "expansion": "Old French -esse",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "fr",
        "2": "LL.",
        "3": "-issa"
      },
      "expansion": "Late Latin -issa",
      "name": "inh"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "fr",
        "2": "grc",
        "3": "-ισσα"
      },
      "expansion": "Ancient Greek -ισσα (-issa)",
      "name": "der"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Inherited from Middle French -esse, from Old French -esse, from Late Latin -issa, from Ancient Greek -ισσα (-issa).",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "-esses",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
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      },
      "expansion": "-esse f (noun-forming suffix, plural -esses)",
      "name": "fr-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "French",
  "lang_code": "fr",
  "pos": "suffix",
  "senses": [
    {
      "glosses": [
        "-ess (female equivalent)"
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "-ess",
          "-ess"
        ]
      ],
      "senseid": [
        "fr:female"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "feminine",
        "morpheme"
      ]
    },
    {
      "glosses": [
        "-ess (wife of)"
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "-ess",
          "-ess"
        ]
      ],
      "senseid": [
        "fr:wife"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "feminine",
        "morpheme"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ɛs/"
    },
    {
      "audio": "LL-Q150 (fra)-Lyokoï--esse.wav",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/4/46/LL-Q150_%28fra%29-Lyoko%C3%AF--esse.wav/LL-Q150_%28fra%29-Lyoko%C3%AF--esse.wav.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/4/46/LL-Q150_%28fra%29-Lyoko%C3%AF--esse.wav/LL-Q150_%28fra%29-Lyoko%C3%AF--esse.wav.ogg"
    },
    {
      "audio": "LL-Q150 (fra)-Jérémy-Günther-Heinz Jähnick--esse.wav",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/2/23/LL-Q150_%28fra%29-J%C3%A9r%C3%A9my-G%C3%BCnther-Heinz_J%C3%A4hnick--esse.wav/LL-Q150_%28fra%29-J%C3%A9r%C3%A9my-G%C3%BCnther-Heinz_J%C3%A4hnick--esse.wav.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/2/23/LL-Q150_%28fra%29-J%C3%A9r%C3%A9my-G%C3%BCnther-Heinz_J%C3%A4hnick--esse.wav/LL-Q150_%28fra%29-J%C3%A9r%C3%A9my-G%C3%BCnther-Heinz_J%C3%A4hnick--esse.wav.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "word": "-esse"
}

Download raw JSONL data for -esse meaning in French (6.5kB)

{
  "called_from": "form_descriptions/1698",
  "msg": "unrecognized head form: noun-forming suffix",
  "path": [
    "-esse"
  ],
  "section": "French",
  "subsection": "suffix",
  "title": "-esse",
  "trace": ""
}

{
  "called_from": "form_descriptions/1698",
  "msg": "unrecognized head form: noun-forming suffix",
  "path": [
    "-esse"
  ],
  "section": "French",
  "subsection": "suffix",
  "title": "-esse",
  "trace": ""
}

This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable French dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2025-12-23 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2025-12-02 using wiktextract (6fdc867 and 9905b1f). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.