Engagé

Engagé is a French adjective and noun with several related meanings. As an adjective, it denotes the state of being involved, committed, or pledged, and agrees with the gender and number: engagé (masculine singular), engagée (feminine singular), engagés or engagées (plural). In general usage, it describes a person who takes a public stance on political, social, or cultural issues, or an artist, writer, or public figure whose work expresses political commitment. The term often implies sustained involvement rather than casual support.

Historically, engagés referred to colonial indentured workers who signed contracts to work in New France (the areas of present-day Canada, notably Quebec) during the 17th and 18th centuries. These engagés came largely from various regions of France and were contracted to work for several years in exchange for passage, lodging, and wages, with the prospect of eventual freedom or land. Their presence was a significant factor in the early settlement and labor systems of Nouvelle-France, though conditions and outcomes varied by contract and era.

In contemporary French, engagé remains common to describe people who are actively involved in causes or movements. It also appears in terms like poète engagé or journaliste engagé, referring to poets or journalists whose work is explicitly political or social in orientation. The word carries a generally positive connotation of principled involvement, while its precise shade of meaning depends on context.