*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of moiré

Etymology tree English mohairbor. French moire Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-tós Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂tos Proto-Italic *-ātos Latin -ātus Old French -é Middle French -é Fren

1 source sectionExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
verb

To give a watered or clouded appearance to (a surface).

noun

A pattern that emerges when two grids are superimposed over one another, sometimes unintended or undesirable in many applications, such as in weaving, screenprinting, and halftoning. · A fabric, often silk, which has a watery or wavelike appearance.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Etymology tree English mohairbor. French moire Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-tós Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂tos Proto-Italic *-ātos Latin -ātus Old French -é Middle French -é French -é French moirébor. English moiré Borrowed from French moiré (“watered, clouded”).

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":bor",
        "3": "fr:moiré<t:watered, clouded>",
        "text": "+",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nEnglish mohairbor.\nFrench moire\nProto-Indo-European *-h₂\nProto-Indo-European *-éh₂\nProto-Indo-European *-tós\nProto-Indo-European *-eh₂tos\nProto-Italic *-ātos\nLatin -ātus\nOld French -é\nMiddle French -é\nFrench -é\nFrench moirébor.\nEnglish moiré\n[Appendix:Glossary#loanword|Borrowed]] from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"gloss\" : \"watered, clouded\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"keyword_abbrev\" : \"bor.\", \"keyword_label\" : \"Borrowed from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"mohair\", \"status\" : \"missing\", \"lang\" : \"en\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"bor\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"French\", \"term\" : \"moire\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"fr\" }, { \"id\" : \"adjective\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"adjective\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"adjective\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"adjective\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"forming adjectives\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"adjectival\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"collective nouns\", \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"id\" : \"collective nouns\", \"children\" : [ ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*-h₂\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\", \"pos\" : \"suffix originally used to form collective nouns, extended in Late PIE to also be a marker of feminine gender\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"keyword\" : \"from\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*-éh₂\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" }, { \"id\" : \"verbal adjectives\", \"children\" : [ ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*-tós\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"is_group\" : true, \"keyword\" : \"affix\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Indo-European\", \"term\" : \"*-eh₂tos\", \"lang\" : \"ine-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"inline\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Italic\", \"term\" : \"*-ātos\", \"lang\" : \"itc-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Latin\", \"term\" : \"-ātus\", \"lang\" : \"la\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Old French\", \"term\" : \"-é\", \"lang\" : \"fro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Middle French\", \"term\" : \"-é\", \"lang\" : \"frm\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"French\", \"term\" : \"-é\", \"lang\" : \"fr\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"is_group\" : true, \"keyword\" : \"affix\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"French\", \"term\" : \"moiré\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"fr\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"bor\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"moiré\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"moiré\">\nBorrowed from French moiré (“watered, clouded”)."
    },
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":bor",
        "3": "fr:moiré<t:watered, clouded>",
        "text": "+",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nEnglish mohairbor.\nFrench moire\nProto-Indo-European *-h₂\nProto-Indo-European *-éh₂\nProto-Indo-European *-tós\nProto-Indo-European *-eh₂tos\nProto-Italic *-ātos\nLatin -ātus\nOld French -é\nMiddle French -é\nFrench -é\nFrench moirébor.\nEnglish moiré\nBorrowed from French moiré (“watered, clouded”)."
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "mohair",
      "mohair#English"
    ],
    [
      "moire",
      "moire#French"
    ],
    [
      "*-h₂",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/-h₂#Proto-Indo-European:_collective_nouns"
    ],
    [
      "*-éh₂",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/-éh₂#Proto-Indo-European:_collective_nouns"
    ],
    [
      "*-tós",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/-tós#Proto-Indo-European:_verbal_adjectives"
    ],
    [
      "*-eh₂tos",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/-eh₂tos#Proto-Indo-European:_adjectival"
    ],
    [
      "*-ātos",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Italic/-ātos#Proto-Italic:_forming_adjectives"
    ],
    [
      "-ātus",
      "-atus#Latin:_adjective"
    ],
    [
      "-é",
      "-é#Old_French:_adjective"
    ],
    [
      "-é",
      "-é#Middle_French:_adjective"
    ],
    [
      "-é",
      "-é#French:_adjective"
    ],
    [
      "moiré",
      "moiré#French"
    ],
    [
      "moiré",
      "moiré#French"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To give a watered or clouded appearance to (a surface)."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "transitive"
      ],
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    },
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A pattern that emerges when two grids are superimposed over one another, sometimes unintended or undesirable in many applications, such as in weaving, screenprinting, and halftoning.",
        "A fabric, often silk, which has a watery or wavelike appearance."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "countable",
        "uncountable"
      ],
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  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
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    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for moiré →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-bW9pcsOp