daigné

Daigné is the past participle of the French verb daigner, meaning to deign or to condescend to do something. In modern usage, the verb is relatively formal and literary, and the participle daigné appears mainly in written contexts. It translates into English as “deigned,” as in il a daigné faire quelque chose, meaning he deigned to do something.

Etymology and related forms: The verb comes from Old French daigner, itself from Latin dignare, derived from dignus meaning worthy and related to dignité. The form daigné is used with the auxiliary avoir in compound tenses (il a daigné, elle a daigné). The present participle daignant exists but is rare and chiefly literary, e.g., en daignant faire quelque chose.

Usage notes: Daigner is used to indicate that the subject performed an action out of courtesy, reluctance, or necessity, often in a slightly ironic or formal tone. In standard French, the past participle may agree with a preceding direct object when the object is placed before the participle, as in les questions qu’il a daignées. More commonly, however, the participle remains invariable in everyday speech. The expression is most often found in formal writing, historical texts, or stylistic prose.

See also: daigner (verb); digne; dignité.

Notable: When encountered as a proper name, Daigné is occasionally found as a French surname, though it is not widely common and is not associated with a specific historical figure or place.