monsieur

noun

mon·​sieur mə-ˈsyər How to pronounce monsieur (audio)
-ˈsyə,
-ˈshyər,
-ˈshyə;
mə-ˈsir
plural messieurs mə-ˈsyər(z) How to pronounce monsieur (audio)
-ˈsyə(z),
-ˈshyər(z),
-ˈshyə(z),
mā-;
mə-ˈsir(z)
: a Frenchman of high rank or station
used as a title equivalent to Mister and prefixed to the name of a Frenchman

Examples of monsieur in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Children’s menus: croque-monsieur, brioche, ham, Gruyère cheese, béchamel, French fries and Gruyere cheeseburger and fries. The Courier-Journal, 5 Apr. 2023 There’s a constant stream of passengers heading to the onboard restaurant, which sells small Bordeaux wine bottles and croque-monsieur. Meg Kelly, Washington Post, 28 Oct. 2022 Slagle’s recipes assume a certain worldliness on the part of the reader, but then dress it down: there’s a croque Monday (a simplified, open-faced monsieur), and a French onion white-bean bake (made with canned cannellini). Hannah Goldfield, The New Yorker, 22 Sep. 2022 Breakfast items include the zucchini egg white frittatas bowl, prosciutto and gruyere croissant, and croque-monsieur. Priscilla Totiyapungprasert, azcentral, 5 Feb. 2020 After the last debutante is placed on stage, the jeunes messieurs bow to the debutantes and in turn, the young ladies do a group curtsey. Sue Strachan, NOLA.com, 26 June 2017

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

Word History

Etymology

Middle French, literally, my lord

First Known Use

1512, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of monsieur was in 1512

Dictionary Entries Near monsieur

Cite this Entry

“Monsieur.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/monsieur. Accessed 10 Dec. 2023.

Kids Definition

monsieur

noun
mon·​sieur məsh-(ˈ)yə(r) How to pronounce monsieur (audio)
məs-,
mə-ˈsi(ə)r
plural messieurs məsh-(ˈ)yə(r)(z) How to pronounce monsieur (audio)
məs-,
mās-;
mə-ˈsi(ə)r(z)
used as a title equal to Mister for a Frenchman

More from Merriam-Webster on monsieur

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