rapport

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ɹæˈpɔɹ/, /ɹəˈpɔɹ/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French rapport,^{[2][3][4][5][6]} from rapporter “to bring back; to refer”,^{[2][3][4][5][6]} from Old French raporter,^[2][5] formed from re- “again” and aporter “to bring”.^{[2][3][4][5][6]} This is from Latin apportare (“to bring”),^{[2][3][4][5][6]} from ad- “to” and portāre “to carry”.^{[2][3][4][5][6]} Etymonline notes that the Old French noun was report; compare English report.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Reference, relation or connection between things.^[4][7][3]

Semantic evolution

It came to mean a harmonious relation or accord.^[4][7] From 1845 it was used in mesmerism of the state in which one person could influence another,^[7][4] and by 1894 in psychology of an intense harmonious accord, as between therapist and patient;^[4] Barnhart dates the sense “harmonious accord, full communication” to 1915.^[3] It is now used mainly of relationships of mutual trust and understanding,^[2][5][6][1] and it was long treated as a French word, especially in en rapport.^[4][7]

Timeline

• 1539 – an isolated use meaning “report, talk”.^[7]
• 1661 – relation, connection;^[7][3][5] Etymonline gives the 1660s.^[4]
• 1818 – en rapport.^[7]
• 1845 – in mesmerism.^[4][7]
• 1894 – in psychology.^[4]
• 1915 – harmonious accord.^[3]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A close, harmonious relationship of mutual trust and understanding.
2. Relation or connection; conformity.

Related words

• en rapport
• report

References

1. [1] [2] Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
3. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
4. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
7. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press