*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of passé

From French passé (“passed”, past participle of passer (“to pass”)).

1 source sectionBrief source recordWiktionary 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 ↗
noun

An attack that passes the target without hitting.

adj

Dated; out of style; old-fashioned. · Past one's prime; worn; faded.

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

From French passé (“passed”, past participle of passer (“to pass”)).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

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

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "bor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "fr",
        "3": "passé",
        "4": "",
        "5": "passed",
        "pos": "past participle of <i class=\"Latn mention\" lang=\"fr\">passer</i> (“to <span class=\"Latn\" lang=\"en\">pass</span>”)"
      },
      "expansion": "French passé (“passed”, past participle of passer (“to pass”))"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "passé",
      "passé#French"
    ],
    [
      "passed",
      "passed#English"
    ],
    [
      "passer",
      "passer#French"
    ],
    [
      "pass",
      "pass#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "An attack that passes the target without hitting."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "24386b0affe0ee1e3ef41785ba24162cb231c15b7f8f2f897bce60b2646117b0",
      "rawRecordSha256": "1e71dbff4470224d7420f1e1fb08fdf92628b4b2ff16d7ff998e68004ad2c85f",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 265106
    },
    {
      "pos": "adj",
      "glosses": [
        "Dated; out of style; old-fashioned.",
        "Past one's prime; worn; faded."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "colloquial"
      ],
      "recordId": "26d113b92c1beb1c9d6e42512df0818ebff4041d1111db951a8dd965d117cc19",
      "rawRecordSha256": "98cc13eed460fc6d510c1c0b8391a1fa72ced14b9613401f8cc81a8920408168",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 265105
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "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 passé →

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-cGFzc8Op