fiancée

noun

fi·an·cée ˌfē-ˌän-ˈsā

fē-ˈän-ˌsā

Synonyms of fiancée next

: a woman engaged to be married

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Promises, Promises: The History of Affidavit, Affiance, & Fiancé

Affidavit refers to a written promise, and its Latin roots connect it to another kind of promise in English. It comes from a past tense form of the Latin verb affidare, meaning “to pledge”; in Latin, affidavit translates to “he or she has made a pledge.”

Affidare is also the root of affiance, an archaic English noun meaning “trust, faith, confidence,” “marriage contract or promise,” or a meaning that has completely fallen from use, “close or intimate relationship.” More familiar to modern English speakers is the verb affiance, meaning “to promise in marriage” or “to betroth.” It usually appears as a fancy-sounding participial adjective:

I like to give affianced friends a copy of Rebecca Mead’s book “One Perfect Day,” which exposes the ridiculous wedding industry.
—Mollie Hemingway, The Federalist, 7 October 2014

Affiance came through French to English in the 14th century, and, nearly 500 years later, the related French words fiancé and fiancée were added to English. Etymologically speaking, a fiancé or fiancée is a “promised one.”

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Fiancé or fiancée?

People may well be anxious, when referring to their betrothed, to make sure that they use the correct term. So the fact that fiancé and fiancée are pronounced exactly the same may cause some degree of worry and uncertainty. These two words are borrowed directly from French, in which language they have equivalent but gendered meanings: fiancé refers to a man who is engaged to be married, and fiancée refers to a woman. We have, as of this date, no evidence suggesting that the meaning of either word is affected by the gender of the person to whom the fiancé or fiancée is engaged.

Example Sentences

My fiancée and I will be married in June. his fiancée is insisting on an elaborate wedding

Recent Examples on the Web Dear Amy: My fiancee and I have been together for over five years. —

Amy Dickinson, Washington Post, 30 Apr. 2023 He was convicted in 2003 on domestic violence charges stemming from a relationship with his former fiancee Heidi Fleiss. —

Hannah Sarisohn, CNN, 19 Feb. 2023 James Hewitt, 56, had scraped his leg after falling off his friend's boat into a canal, his fiancee Leah Delano told the Washington Post. —

Kimberlee Speakman, Peoplemag, 28 Oct. 2022 Benson shared a group shot with friends, including Kristen Stewart and Stewart's fiancee Dylan Meyer, in front of Sleeping Beauty castle at Disneyland. —

Peoplemag, 27 Jan. 2023 Purdy and his fiancee sheltered her body until first responders arrived the next day. —

Carolyn Thompson And Jennifer Peltz, BostonGlobe.com, 29 Dec. 2022 Diana attends her first public engagement with Prince Charles as his fiancee. —

Emma Dibdin, ELLE, 9 Nov. 2022 Davido and his fiancee Chioma Rowland, a chef and influencer also known as Chef Chi, were not home when tragedy struck, police said. —

Nimi Princewill, CNN, 2 Nov. 2022 Garrett Foster, who had been pushing his fiancee’s wheelchair and was carrying an AK-47-style rifle, approached the vehicle and the driver opened fire, witnesses have said. —

Hojun Choi, Dallas News, 8 Apr. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'fiancée.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.