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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
Leah Olajide, Detroit Free Press, 12 July 2024
He was accompanied by his fiancee and two other women, Mokgwabone said in a statement sent to CNN Wednesday.
—Nimi Princewill, CNN, 10 July 2024
In the altercation, police said Dabbs struck Moore’s fiancee in the face multiple times and fired multiple rounds from the handgun, shooting a passenger in the hand and Moore.
—Annie Jennemann, Baltimore Sun, 7 July 2024
During that time, his widowed neighbor and former fiancee (from over 40 years ago) supported the couple with frequent meals and visits.
—Judith Martin, Sun Sentinel, 1 July 2024
Maricopa County prosecutors announced on Thursday an indictment against Brian Torres-Perez, 22, on three manslaughter charges in a crash that killed the son of the Pinal County sheriff, the son's fiancee, Caroline Patten, and their 11-month-old baby.
—Rey Covarrubias Jr., The Arizona Republic, 13 June 2024
But fiancee and teammate Alyssa Thomas said Bonner has always craved the opportunity for uninterrupted quality time with her daughters, and the time was finally right in 2023-24.
—Emily Adams, Hartford Courant, 7 May 2024
Your fiancee’s behavior and your response are the very essence of dysfunction.
—Amy Dickinson, Baltimore Sun, 17 June 2024
While Lamb's fiancee and his daughter remained in the hospital, the Pinal County Sheriff's office announced the connection to the victims.
—Rey Covarrubias Jr., The Arizona Republic, 13 June 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'fiancée.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Fiancée.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fianc%C3%A9e. Accessed 15 Jul. 2024.
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fiancée
noun
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