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Where does the word "dossier" come from? It comes from French dos, passing through French before entering English (1880s).
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Where does the word "dossier" come from? It comes from French dos, passing through French before entering English (1880s).
Dossier’s story begins in French: dos meant “back.” The back, from Latin 'dorsum'. Within French, it grew into dossier by 1800s. A bundle of papers labelled on its back. It reached English by 1880s as dossier. The Dreyfus affair of the 1890s, built on a secret dossier, made it widely known. Today, dossier means a collection of documents about a person or subject.
- Stage 1 · French · medieval dos "back", the back, from Latin 'dorsum'.
- Stage 2 · French · 1800s dossier "file of papers", a bundle of papers labelled on its back.
- Stage 3 · English · 1880s dossier "file", the Dreyfus affair of the 1890s, built on a secret dossier, made it widely known.