*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of vogue

First attested in 1565. Borrowed from Middle French vogue (“wave, course of success”), from Old French vogue, from voguer (“to row, sway, set sail”), from Old Saxon wogōn (“to sway, rock”), var. of wagōn (“to float, fluc

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 ↗
noun

The prevailing fashion or style. · Popularity or a current craze. · A highly stylized modern dance that evolved out of the Harlem ballroom scene in the 1960s. · A cigarette.

verb

To dance in the vogue dance style. · To light a cigarette for (someone).

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

First attested in 1565. Borrowed from Middle French vogue (“wave, course of success”), from Old French vogue, from voguer (“to row, sway, set sail”), from Old Saxon wogōn (“to sway, rock”), var. of wagōn (“to float, fluctuate”), from Proto-Germanic *wagōną (“to sway, fluctuate”) and Proto-Germanic *wēgaz (“water in motion”), from Proto-Germanic *weganą (“to move, carry, weigh”), from Proto-Indo-European *weǵʰ- (“to move, go, transport”) (compare way). Akin to Old Saxon wegan (“to move”), Old High German wegan (“to move”), Old English wegan (“to move, carry, weigh”), Old Norse vaga (“to sway, fluctuate”), Old English wagian (“to sway, totter”), German Woge (“wave”), Swedish våg (“wave”). More at wag. The dance derives its name from Vogue magazine.

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": "root",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*weǵʰ-"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    },
    {
      "name": "etydate",
      "args": {
        "1": "1565"
      },
      "expansion": "First attested in 1565"
    },
    {
      "name": "bor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "frm",
        "3": "vogue",
        "4": "",
        "5": "wave, course of success"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle French vogue (“wave, course of success”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "fro",
        "3": "vogue"
      },
      "expansion": "Old French vogue"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "osx",
        "3": "wogōn",
        "4": "",
        "5": "to sway, rock"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Saxon wogōn (“to sway, rock”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*wagōną",
        "4": "",
        "5": "to sway, fluctuate"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *wagōną (“to sway, fluctuate”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*wēgaz",
        "4": "",
        "5": "water in motion"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *wēgaz (“water in motion”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*weganą",
        "4": "",
        "5": "to move, carry, weigh"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *weganą (“to move, carry, weigh”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*weǵʰ-",
        "4": "",
        "5": "to move, go, transport"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *weǵʰ- (“to move, go, transport”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "osx",
        "2": "wegan",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to move"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Saxon wegan (“to move”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "goh",
        "2": "wegan",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to move"
      },
      "expansion": "Old High German wegan (“to move”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "ang",
        "2": "wegan",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to move, carry, weigh"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English wegan (“to move, carry, weigh”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "non",
        "2": "vaga",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to sway, fluctuate"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Norse vaga (“to sway, fluctuate”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "ang",
        "2": "wagian",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to sway, totter"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English wagian (“to sway, totter”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "Woge",
        "3": "",
        "4": "wave"
      },
      "expansion": "German Woge (“wave”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sv",
        "2": "våg",
        "3": "",
        "4": "wave"
      },
      "expansion": "Swedish våg (“wave”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "vogue",
      "vogue#Middle_French"
    ],
    [
      "vogue",
      "vogue#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "voguer",
      "voguer#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "wogōn",
      "wogon#Old_Saxon"
    ],
    [
      "wagōn",
      "wagon#Old_Saxon"
    ],
    [
      "*wagōną",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/wagōną"
    ],
    [
      "*wēgaz",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/wēgaz"
    ],
    [
      "*weganą",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/weganą"
    ],
    [
      "*weǵʰ-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/weǵʰ-"
    ],
    [
      "way",
      "way#English"
    ],
    [
      "wegan",
      "wegan#Old_Saxon"
    ],
    [
      "wegan",
      "wegan#Old_High_German"
    ],
    [
      "wegan",
      "wegan#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "vaga",
      "vaga#Old_Norse"
    ],
    [
      "wagian",
      "wagian#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "Woge",
      "Woge#German"
    ],
    [
      "våg",
      "våg#Swedish"
    ],
    [
      "wag",
      "wag#English"
    ],
    [
      "Vogue",
      "Vogue#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "The prevailing fashion or style.",
        "Popularity or a current craze.",
        "A highly stylized modern dance that evolved out of the Harlem ballroom scene in the 1960s.",
        "A cigarette."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "countable",
        "uncountable",
        "Polari"
      ],
      "recordId": "16cd77eec53a0bad3305e93421e6e58a00d7aa76f83907eae8415ccb97fada57",
      "rawRecordSha256": "e585cd8bd7e077e7348a299da7bc342a70eb0d86746c312a94eac5a2f1d71e77",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 274235
    },
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To dance in the vogue dance style.",
        "To light a cigarette for (someone)."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "intransitive",
        "Polari"
      ],
      "recordId": "bf367e145ba01ee365a6ef40394dbaf2e7234d093f79c6233c7546fb12c22737",
      "rawRecordSha256": "e2a7fde9a6e5e9285020d918c58fc8f66879a474a6aba17bc67b638454de4ad9",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 274236
    }
  ],
  "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 vogue →

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-dm9ndWU