Fiancees

/ˌfiːɑnˈseɪz/ noun

Definition

Plural of fiancée; multiple women who are engaged to be married.

Etymology

From French 'fiancée' (feminine form of 'fiancé'), the past participle of 'fiancer.' In English, we've adopted the French feminine ending '-ée' to distinguish the female fiancée from the male fiancé, even though we don't typically preserve French gender distinctions.

Kelly Says

It's curious that English kept the French gender distinction for fiancé/fiancée when we've largely dropped gender from other paired words—this shows how certain romantic words feel special enough to preserve their French elegance.

Translations

AMአማርኛ
እናት
e-na-at
ARالعربية
خطباء
khaṭībāt
BNবাংলা
সম্প্রীত
som-pri-t
CACatalà
novial
noh-vee-al
CSČeština
nevštěvy
nɛv-štɛ-vy
DADansk
forlovede
for-lo-veh-deh
DEDeutsch
Verlobte
fɛʁˈloːb.tə
ELΕλληνικά
αννύσεις
an-noo-see-es
ESEspañol
novias
noh-vee-as
FAفارسی
همسر
ham-sar
FISuomi
kihlatut
kihl-a-tuht
FRFrançais
fiancées
fjaan-se
GUGU
એક
ay-ek
HAHA
yarin
ya-rin
HEעברית
כלה
kalah
HIहिन्दी
फिआंसी
fee-an-see
HUMagyar
fiancsí
fian-chee
IDBahasa Indonesia
tunangan
tu-na-ngan
IGIG
nwanyi
n-wah-yee
ITItaliano
fidanzate
fee-dan-zah-teh
JA日本語
婚約者
コンヤクシャ
KKKK
келіншек
ke-lin-shek
KMKM
ព្រះបាទ
pr-eah-ba-at
KO한국어
신부
sinbu
MRMR
संगी
san-gee
MSBahasa Melayu
pengantin perempuan
peng-an-tin per-e-me-han
MYမြန်မာ
အမျိုးသမီး
a-myo-tha-mee
NLNederlands
verloofden
fɛʁˈloːf.dən
NONorsk
forlovede
for-lo-veh-deh
PAPA
ਮਾણ
ma-an
PLPolski
narzeczone
nar-t͡sɛ-t͡sɔ-nɛ
PTPortuguês
noivas
noh-ee-vuhs
RORomână
nașoară
na-sho-ar-ah
RUРусский
невесты
nеvеsty
SVSvenska
fiancèer
fee-an-se-er
SWKiswahili
mke
m-keh
TAதமிழ்
நாளு
na-alu
TEతెలుగు
బంధువులు
ban-thu-vu-lu
THไทย
คู่หมั้น
koo-mun
TLTL
nobyo
noh-bee-oh
TRTürkçe
nişanlılar
ni-şan-lı-lar
UKУкраїнська
наречені
na-re-chen-i
URاردو
بیوہ
bee-oh
VITiếng Việt
những người đính hôn
nhu-ng-oi-dinh-hon
YOYO
ẹbi
eh-bee
ZH中文
未婚妻
wèihūn qī
ZUZU
umfazi
oom-fah-zee

Ethical Language Guidance

Gender History

The feminine suffix '-ée' in French gendered this term exclusively female. English adoption preserved the gendered form; masculine 'fiancé' appeared later as a reverse borrowing, treating betrothal status as requiring gender marking.

Inclusive Usage

Use 'fiancé' for any gender when specificity isn't needed, or 'betrothed partner' for explicit inclusion. Context determines necessity of gender marking.

Inclusive Alternatives

["betrothed partner","fiancé (gender-neutral in modern usage)","engaged person"]

Related Words

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