promettre

French

Etymology

Inherited from Old French prometre, an early borrowing from Latin promittere, adapted to or based on French mettre.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pʁɔ.mɛtʁ/

• audio

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Verb

promettre

1. to promise
   • 1856, Francis Linossier, Les mystères de Lyon, page 181:

     S’il ne dépend que de moi, je vous promets de vous y faire arriver promptement.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

   Je te promets que je te rendrai ton argent avant dimanche. ― I promise I'll give you your money back before Sunday.

   J’ai promis à mon père de ne rien dire à ma mère. ― I promised my dad not to tell my mom.

   1. (reflexive) to promise oneself
2. (intransitive) to be promising, to be hopeful

   C’est une athlète qui promet. ― She is a promising athlete.

   Ça promet ! ― That bodes well!

3. (ditransitive reflexive) to hope (for)
   • 2018, Zaz, on s'en remet jamais

     Est-ce que tout ce que l’on se promet a pu se perdre dans un désert ? Ne reste-t-il que des poussières une fois que l’amour est absent.

     Could everything we hope for have been lost in a desert? Nothing but dust remains once the love is lost.

4. (reflexive) to resolve (to)

Conjugation

This verb is conjugated like mettre. That means it is conjugated like battre except that its past participle is promis, not *promettu, and its past historic and imperfect subjunctive are formed with promi-, not *prometti-.

Derived terms

• chose promise, chose due
• ne pas promettre poires molles
• promesse
• promettre monts et merveilles
• prometteur
• promis juré
• promis, juré, craché
• terre promise

Related terms

• mettre

Further reading

• “promettre”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé , 2012.

Norman

Etymology

From Old French prometre, an early borrowing from Latin prōmittō, prōmittere (“send forth; promise”).

Verb

promettre

1. (Jersey) to promise