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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.
Examples of fiancée in a Sentence
Pete Grathoff
july 3, Kansas City Star, 3 July 2025
On June 8, Ernie Victor Solis, 40, of Napa was accused of killing his 33-year-old fiancee, Hailey Privett, according to a Facebook post by the district attorney’s office and the Press Democrat.
—Paloma Chavez, Sacbee.com, 12 June 2025
The three men’s bodies were discovered two days later, after McGeeney’s fiancee broke into the home after becoming concerned about her fiance, and found a body in the back porch area.
—Caroline Zimmerman, Kansas City Star, 26 June 2025
The Dallas Cowboys quarterback and his fiancee Sarah Jane Ramos welcomed their second daughter, born May 22.
—Annabelle Canela, Parents, 2 June 2025
The Dallas Cowboys franchise quarterback now has a fiancee and two daughters.
—Jon MacHota, New York Times, 13 June 2025
The victim, Ward's fiancee, alleged that Ward assaulted, strangled and threatened her, the sheriff's office said.
—Doc Louallen, ABC News, 12 June 2025
Adam Hadwin of Canada holds the trophy with fiancee Jessica Dawn Kippenberger after winning the Valspar Championship during the final round at Innisbrook Resort Copperhead Course on March 12, 2017 in Palm Harbor, Florida.
—Julio Cesar Valdera Morales, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 June 2025
The pop star and her friend, Gayle King, have come under fire in the past week for their decision to join Bezos’s fiancee, Sanchez, on an 11-minute space flight aboard a Blue Origin rocket owned by the Amazon founder.
—Martha Ross, Mercury News, 7 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Fiancée.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fianc%C3%A9e. Accessed 14 Jul. 2025.
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fiancée
noun
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