huissier

English

Etymology

Borrowed from French huissier. Doublet of usher and possibly ostiary.

Noun

huissier (plural huissiers)

1. (archaic) A doorman in France.
   • 1982 February 15, William Safire, “ESSAY; FRANCE'S IDEA MAN”, in The New York Times‎^[1]:

     That is because the huissier cannot lead anyone in to see the President of France without first passing through the adjacent office of Jacques Attali.

   • 1999 February 23, Joan Dupont, “From Out of Purgatory, a French Musical Hit”, in The New York Times‎^[2]:

     A chorus of five huissiers, or ushers, line up in a row, like sleek crows cawing out comments on the machinations of their masters.

2. (historical) A huissier de justice, an officer of the court in various European countries roughly similar to a British bailiff.

French

Etymology

Inherited from Old French ussier, from uis (“door”) + -ier (suffix denoting occupation), or inherited from Latin ostiārius. Doublet of ostiaire.

Pronunciation

• ^{(mute h)} IPA^(key): /ɥi.sje/

Noun

huissier m (plural huissiers, feminine huissière)

1. an usher, particularly:
   1. (archaic, ceremonial or literary) a doorman
   2. (law) Ellipsis of huissier de justice, an officer of the court in various European countries roughly similar to a British bailiff

Related terms

• huis

Descendants

• → English: huissier
• → Romanian: ușier (calque)
• → Tamil: உச்சே (uccē)

Further reading

• “huissier”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.