Remplacé

Remplacé is the past participle of the French verb remplacer, meaning “replaced” or “substituted.” It can also function as an adjective to describe something that has been substituted, or as part of a passive or perfect construction in time expressions.

Etymology and form: The word comes from the verb remplacer, formed by the prefix re- (again, back) and the root placer (to place). The sense evolved to denote putting something else in place of what was there before. As a participle, remplacé agrees in gender and number: remplacé (masculine singular), remplacée (feminine singular), remplacés (masculine plural), remplacées (feminine plural).

Grammar and usage: In compound tenses, remplacé functions with the auxiliary avoir: j’ai remplacé le faulty piece. As an adjective, it can modify nouns: une pièce remplacée, des pièces remplacées. The expression remplacé par is used to indicate what has substituted something else: remplacé par un modèle plus récent, replaced by a newer model.

In specialized or technical contexts, remplacé appears in discussions of replacement, substitution, or updates. In computing, the related verb remplacer is widely used for “find and replace” operations, and the past participle remplacé can appear in phrases describing completed substitutions: le texte a été remplacé, les valeurs ont été remplacées.

See also: remplacement, remplaçant, substitution, substitution technique.