Cherché

Cherché is a French term that serves as the past participle of the verb chercher, meaning to seek or to search. In everyday French, cherché acts as an adjective or part of verb tenses, most commonly appearing in the passé composé as j’ai cherché (I searched) or in phrases such as un objet cherché (a sought-after object).

Etymology and usage: The word derives from the verb chercher, which is widely used across French to express the act of looking for, pursuing, or attempting something. As an adjective, cherché can describe things that are sought or aimed for, and it frequently appears in literary or formal registers. The form and meaning are closely tied to the broader family of words built from chercher, including chercher, recherche, and chercheur.

English-language context: In English, cherché is encountered mainly as a loanword in discussions of French language, translation, or cultural topics. It is often used in quoted phrases or in descriptive writing that aims to evoke French terminology. When translated, chercher or cherché-related ideas are typically rendered in English as seek, searched, or sought-after.

In dance: In classical ballet and dance pedagogy, cherché appears as a borrowed French term in movement vocabulary. It is used to describe certain preparatory or exploratory foot motions that align with the French origin of the word—an action centered on “seeking” or locating the correct position. The exact technical details can vary by school.

See also: chercher, recherche, chercheur, French language.