âpre

Forms

âpre (plural âpres)^[1] Old French and Middle French aspre.^[2][1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle French aspre, inherited from Old French aspre, inherited from Latin asper (“rough, rocky”), in the accusative ⟨asperum⟩.^{[1][3][4][2][5]} Wiktionary reports that the TLFi treats it as an early borrowing.^[1] The Latin word is of unknown origin; a derivative of it gave exaspérer.^[3] Bloch and Wartburg note that the form ⟨ispre⟩, widespread in southern dialects, is of obscure origin.^[4]

Cognate with Italian aspro, Spanish áspero, Portuguese áspero and Occitan aspre.^[3][1][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is recorded from the middle of the 12th century, at first in abstract senses applied to people.^[2][7][3] Littré quotes the Couronnement de Louis: ne feras mès pechié qui te soit aspre “you will commit no more sin that is harsh to you”.^[6]

Semantic evolution

Applied to people, Old French aspre covered severity and valour (12th to early 17th centuries), passion and ardour, and greed, as in aspre de with an infinitive (1274).^[3] The greedy sense survives in âpre au gain (1694); âpre en affaires is later (1846).^[3] Other old uses named a fiery or restive horse, a snarling dog (1559) and a violent fight.^[3]

The concrete sense “steep, rugged” appears in Chrétien de Troyes (1164), and “unpleasantly rough to touch or taste” and “biting” (of cold) by the late 12th century.^[3] The sense of roughness has aged, replaced by rugueux or râpeux, and the word is no longer said of heat and cold; it lives on of taste.^[3] There it first praised a strong wine (12th to 14th centuries).^[3] Since the 14th century it has meant harsh or sour, of any food, and since the 17th century also of fruit.^[3]

Timeline

• c. 1150 – Aspre appears, at first in abstract senses.^[2][7]
• 1164 – Chrétien de Troyes uses it for “steep, rugged”.^[3]
• Late 12th century – Used of a sensation rough to touch or taste, and of biting cold.^[3]
• 1274 – Aspre de with an infinitive, “eager to”.^[3]
• 1694 – Âpre au gain “greedy for gain” is recorded.^[3]
• 1846 – Âpre en affaires appears.^[3]

Meanings

Adjective

1. (dated) Rough and uneven, rugged, of a surface or path.^[7][8]
2. Harsh and unpleasant to bear: biting (of cold or wind), rasping (of a voice or sound).^[7][9]
3. Sharp and astringent to the taste, of a fruit or wine.^[7][9][1]
4. (figurative) Hard, harsh, fierce: a lutte âpre is a bitter struggle.^[7][9]
5. Âpre au gain: greedy for profit.^[9][3]
6. (anatomy) Ligne âpre: the rough ridge on the back of the femur.^[9]

Word family

• âprement
• âpreté

Related words

• aspérité
• exaspérer
• Latin asper

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 25, 469a
6. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
7. ^ a b c d e f Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
9. ^ a b c d e Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)