Vol. 09 · Loanwords ·French ·1880s
Dossier
from dossier
- Meaning
- A collection of documents on a person or subject.
- Source word
- dossier
- Route into English
- French *dossier* — a bundle labelled on the back, from *dos* (back) → English. The physical image of a stack with a spine label survives in the meaning even as dossiers have gone digital.
- Arrived
- 1880s
From French
Beyond the Norman conquest's Old French foundation, English kept borrowing from French for art, cuisine, fashion, and diplomacy throughout the modern period.
English borrows.
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