Etymograph

English

fin de siècle

Fin de siècle comes from French fin-de-siècle.

  1. Frenchc. 1600–presentfin-de-siècleliterally ‘end of the century’
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1990fin de siècle

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Frenchc. 1600–presentfin-de-siècleliterally ‘end of the century’
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1990fin de siècle

Earliest quotation: 1990, Mikulas Teich, Roy Porter: “The fin-de-siècle phenomenon has, of course, received considerable attention…”

The story

Borrowed from French fin-de-siècle (literally “end of the century”).

Every English word from French fin-de-siècle

Today it means

adj Pertaining to the close of the 19th century, usually suggesting a literary and artistic climate of modernism, world-weariness, and self-indulgence.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / French fin-de-siècle / fin de siècle

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