to be; to be located; to be situated; to denote time, day, or date; used to form compound tenses and structures, such as the perfect and pluperfect
“Vous devez être plus clairs.” — You guys must be clearer.
Synonyms: se situer, se trouver
Related: French terms starting with
From Middle French and Old French estre and ester, respectively from Early Medieval Latin essere (< esse "be") and Latin stāre (“stand”). Conjugations reflect both but more so the former. The form suis "(I) am" appears to reflect Vulgar Latin *suiō < Latin sum. Compare ai "(I) have", sais "(I) know" < *aiō, *saiō < habeō, sapiō. Cognates See also Angevin éter, étère, eteur, Aragonese estar, Aromanian escu, est, hiu, Bourbonnais-Berrichon éter, être, Bourguignon étre, Catalan ésser, estar, ser, C