Definition of FIANCEE

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.”

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

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

Recent Examples on the Web

Baldwin showed off a diamond ring to the world, via TMZ, and by the look of the photos, Bieber spared no amount of money on his fiancee's rock. — Sam Tornow, Billboard, "Hailey Baldwin Flashes Engagement Ring From Justin Bieber in the Bahamas: Photos," 9 July 2018 Soon arriving is Robert Pattinson’s Samuel Alabaster, a stranger in town, who enlists Parson Henry (David Zellner) – the Monument Valley traveler, having inherited the pastor’s robe and Bible – to marry him and his fiancee, Penelope (Wasikowska). — Jake Coyle, kansascity, "Robert Pattinson elevates the melancholy Western ‘Damsel’," 5 July 2018 Even Nick's fiancee, Juliette (Elizabeth Tulloch) turned into a witchy Hexenbiest, which really added to Nick's headaches. — Kristi Turnquist, OregonLive.com, "'Grimm' star David Giuntoli cast in ABC pilot, 'A Million Little Things'," 8 Feb. 2018 The Senators were eager to deal him amid a dispute between him and his fiancee and Senators captain Erik Karlsson and his wife. — CBS News, "Mike Hoffman traded by Ottawa Senators after fiancee accused of cyberbullying," 19 June 2018 Luyendyk, son of two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Arie Luyendyk and a driver himself in the 2006 race, attended the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg with his new fiancee, Lauren Burnham. — David Lindquist, Indianapolis Star, "After ‘Bachelor’ drama, Arie Luyendyk Jr. attends IndyCar race with Lauren Burnham," 12 Mar. 2018 Pete Davidson isn't just loved-up with his fiancee Ariana Grande. — Lars Brandle, Billboard, "Pete Davidson Confirms His Engagement to Ariana Grande on 'Fallon': 'I'm a Lucky Motherf---er'," 21 June 2018 The former Baltimore Ravens running back was charged with aggravated assault after an early morning fight with his fiancee in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in February 2014. — Eric Levenson, CNN, "NFL's anthem decision shows the league's obsession with visuals and optics," 24 May 2018 Some very important advice today: How not to break up with your fiancee. — Fox News, "President Trump cautiously optimistic about North Korea," 7 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'fiancée.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.