Devoir, pronounced duh-VWAHR, is a noun meaning duty or a formal act of respect. It was borrowed into English from French, with its spelling later updated to match the modern French form.
Devoir (duh-VWAHR) is a noun meaning duty, responsibility, or a formal act of civility or respect. The word was borrowed twice into English, first as 'dever' and later respelled to match modern French.
| Front | devoir \duh-VWAHR\ |
|---|---|
| Back | noun 1. Duty, responsibility. 2. A usually formal act of civility or respect. ["Devoir" was borrowed twice, in a manner of speaking. We first borrowed it in its Anglo-French form, "dever," back in the days of Middle English. As is so often the case when an adopted word becomes established in English, its pronunciation shifted to conform to English pronunciation standards. The French put the stress on the last syllable, but English speakers stressed the first. One hundred or so years later, some writers changed the English spelling to "devoir" to match the modern French. That French borrowing was actually pronounced like French (as well as English speakers could, anyway)—just as it is today.] "The Grand Master, having allowed the apology of Albert Malvoisin, commanded the herald to stand forth and do his devoir." — From Sir Walter Scott's 1819 novel Ivanhoe |
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