English
femme fatale
Femme fatale comes from French femme fatale.
- Frenchc. 1600–presentfemme fataleliterally ‘deadly woman’
- Englishearliest quotation 1967same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Frenchc. 1600–presentfemme fataleliterally ‘deadly woman’
- Englishearliest quotation 1967same form
Earliest quotation: 1967, Lou Reed, Femme Fatale: “Cause everybody knows (She's a femme fatale) / The…”
The story
Unadapted borrowing from French femme fatale (literally “deadly woman”).
Every English word from French femme fatale
Today it means
noun An attractive and seductive but ultimately dangerous woman.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / French femme fatale / femme fatale