déclaré

Déclaré is the past participle of the French verb déclarer and also functions as an adjective meaning declared, officially announced or recorded. It indicates that a fact, value or status has been formally stated or documented by an authority, rather than left informal. The form agrees in gender and number: déclarÉ (masculin singulier), déclarée (féminin singulier), déclarés (masculin pluriel) and déclarées (féminin pluriel).

In administrative and legal contexts, déclaré accompanies nouns to indicate formal declaration: revenu déclaré, patrimoine déclaré, activité déclarée. In taxation and social security, it contrasts with non déclaré or non déclarés (undeclared incomes or workers). In customs and trade, valeur déclarée refers to declared value for duties, while marchandises déclarées means declared goods; une déclaration en douane is the accompanying customs declaration.

In law, the passive construction is common: « a été déclaré coupable » or « l’accusé a été déclaré coupable », meaning the court has found the person guilty. The term is also used to describe statuses in official records, such as résidence déclarée or activité déclarée, to distinguish them from unrecorded or informal arrangements.

Etymology: declared derives from the verb déclarer, itself from Latin declarare, composed of de- and clarare (to make clear). The word has broad use in French to denote something that has been formally stated, registered or acknowledged by an authority.