bienvenue
French
Etymology
From Old French bienvenue; literally bien (“well”) + venue (“come, coming”); compare also bienvenu (without the -e). Presumably a calque of an Old Frankish term, from Proto-Germanic *wiljakwumô (“a welcome guest or arrival”), from which many modern Germanic forms descend, as English welcome.
Its use in the sense “you’re welcome” is recent, due to influence from English; English “you’re welcome” dates from early 20th century, French usage correspondingly later.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /bjɛ̃.v(ə).ny/
audio (file)
Interjection
bienvenue
- welcome!
- Bienvenue à Paris!
- Welcome to Paris!
- Bienvenue à Paris!
- (Quebec) you're welcome (as an answer to thank you)
- Merci pour le party!
- Bienvenue.
- Thanks for the party!
- You're welcome.
Further reading
- “bienvenue” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).
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