payé

Payé is the past participle of the French verb payer, meaning to pay. In French it is used in compound tenses such as the passé composé and plus-que-parfait, and it can also function as an adjective meaning “paid” or “settled.”

As a past participle with avoir, payé agrees in gender and number with a preceding direct object. Examples: J’ai payé la facture (no agreement when the object is after the participle). Les factures que j’ai payées (agreement with the feminine plural noun factures that precedes the participle). In passive voice or when used with être, the participle agrees with the subject: La facture a été payée; Les paiements ont été payés.

As an adjective, payé describes something that has been paid. It can occur before or after the noun: une facture payée, des services payés. In expressions, it appears in phrases such as payer d’avance (to pay in advance) or payé au comptant (paid in cash).

Usage notes: payé is written with an acute e, and its form changes to payée, payés, or payées to reflect gender and number. The term is common in financial, commercial, and administrative language, and appears frequently in invoices, contracts, and receipt wording.

Etymology: payé comes from the verb payer, which derives from Old French paiier and ultimately from Latin pacare, meaning to appease or to compensate, evolving in meaning toward settling a debt.

See also: payer, paiement, paiement en retard, paiement anticipé.