Émet

Émet is the third-person singular present indicative form of the French verb émettre, meaning “he emits” or “it emits.” It is used when the subject performs the act of emitting or transmitting something, such as light, sound, energy, or signals.

Émettre comes from Latin emittere, from ex- “out” + mittere “to send.” In French, the verb preserves the root émet- and follows the standard conjugation patterns of the -mettre family, with forms that align with similar verbs like mettre and admettre in many tenses and moods.

The verb émettre has several common uses. Physically, it describes the emission of light, heat, radiation, or sound, as in un appareil qui émet un signal. In communication, it describes transmitting or broadcasting signals or programs, for example une station qui émet sur plusieurs fréquences. It can also be used in a figurative sense, such as émettre une hypothèse (to put forward an hypothesis) or émettre une opinion (to express an opinion).

Present tense forms are: j’émets, tu émets, il émet, nous émettons, vous émettez, ils émettent. Other tenses follow standard patterns for this verb family, with variations such as j’ai émis (past), j’émettais (imperfect), j’émettrai (future), and subjonctif que j’émette.

Related terms include émission (emission or broadcast), émetteur (transmitter or emitter), and émetteur-récepteur (transmitter-receiver). The term émet is primarily encountered as the verb form in written and spoken French.