nître

Nôtre is a French possessive pronoun meaning ours. It functions as a noun substitute that indicates possession by the group including the speaker, and it is typically used with a definite article, in forms such as le nôtre, la nôtre, and les nôtres. By contrast, the corresponding possessive determiner is notre, which accompanies a noun directly (notre livre, notre maison).

Etymology and form. Nôtre derives from Old French nostre, with the circumflex on the o signaling a historical loss of s after the vowel. The same historical change produced the related forms vôtre from vostre. The pronoun form changes to reflect gender and number of the noun it replaces: le nôtre (masculine singular), la nôtre (feminine singular), les nôtres (plural). The corresponding forms for the second person are le vôtre, la vôtre, les vôtres; similarly for the third person in some contexts, le sien, la sienne, les leurs, and so on – though those are separate possessive pronouns.

Usage. Nôtre is relatively formal and somewhat literary in modern French. It is most often found in written prose or carefully styled speech, especially when contrasting possessions: “Le nôtre est plus grand que le vôtre.” In everyday language, the determiner notre is used with nouns: notre maison, notre idée. The pronoun form is used when the possessed noun is implied or previously mentioned, for emphasis or clarity: “Ce carnet est à nous — le nôtre est là-bas” or “Les nôtres sont mieux protégés.”

See also. French possessive determiners and possessive pronouns; list of stressed possessive pronouns in French; etymology of French circumflex accents.