Adjoindre

Adjoindre is a French transitive verb meaning to join to or to attach, and more generally to add or append something to an existing whole. It can also mean to appoint or assign someone to a post or service. In everyday language the term is formal and is most often found in administrative, legal, or literary contexts. The core idea is bringing an element, whether a document, a clause, a piece of equipment, or a person, as an addition to an existing entity.

Usage and sense

- Attaching or adding: adjoindre une pièce au dossier, adjoindre une clause au contrat, adjoindre un annexe technique. This emphasizes that something is being placed alongside or appended to something else.

- Appointing or assigning: adjoindre quelqu’un à un service or adjoindre un conseiller à l’équipe. Here the sense is to attach a person to a role, mission, or organization.

Etymology and register

Adjoindre comes from Old French adjoindre, from Latin adjungere, literally “to join toward.” The form and nuance are characteristic of formal or historical language; in everyday speech, riders such as joindre, ajouter, or attacher are more common.

Relation to other terms

Adjoindre is related to joindre (to join) and attacher (to attach), but conveys a stronger sense of addition or designation within an existing structure. It is less frequent in modern colloquial use and often appears in legal documents, administrative texts, and literary styles.

See also

Joindre, ajouter, attacher, annexer.