éblouir

Forms

éblouir^[1] Old French esbleuir, esbloïr and esbloer;^[2][3][1] Middle French esblouir.^[2][3][1] The spelling esblouir is recorded by Robert Estienne in 1538, and éblouir by Monet in 1636.^[4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle French esblouir, inherited from Old French esbleuir, inherited from Vulgar Latin *exblaudiō, formed with the intensive prefix ex- on a verb taken from Frankish, built on the stem Proto-Germanic *blauþ- (“weak”).^[2][5][4][1] Bloch and Wartburg explain this form and Old French esbloer by two Latin types, the verb in -īre above and *exblaudare, both formed on the adjective Frankish *blaudi (“weak”).^[3][6] The same Germanic word gave Old High German blōdi (“feeble, weak in body or mind”) and German blöde (“weak (of the eyes)”),^[2][5][7] and Wiktionary also compares Old English blēaþ (“gentle, timid”) and Danish blød (“soft”).^[1]

The verb is found only in Gallo-Romance: compare Old Occitan emblauzit (“astounded”), with another prefix.^[3][5] Littré still thought the origin uncertain and weighed a derivation from bleu (making things look blue before the eyes) against the Old High German adjective.^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded about 1165, as the reflexive s'esbleuir “to be dazzled”, in Guillaume d'Angleterre; this pronominal use has since disappeared.^[2][5] The transitive esbloïr “to dazzle (the eyes) with too strong a light” follows in Chrétien de Troyes's Perceval (1181–1190).^[2][5]

Semantic evolution

From the concrete sense of troubling the sight with an unbearable glare, the verb passed in the 16th century to the mind: in 1552 Ronsard used it of beauty that strikes one with admiration.^[2][5] From this came the sense “to seduce by deceiving” (1559, Amyot), now dated, and in the 17th century the related idea of fooling someone with a false brilliance;^[5][2] later the idea of splendour won over that of deceit.^[5] The intransitive use, of a light that dazzles, is recorded by Furetière in 1690.^[2]

The present participle éblouissant is used of a dazzling light in 1470, and in Molière (1663) of what dazzles by its beauty.^[2][5] In technology the verb also means to saturate a receiver such as a radar with intense radiation.^[9]

Timeline

• c. 1165 – S'esbleuir “to be dazzled” appears in Guillaume d'Angleterre.^[2]
• 1181–1190 – Transitive esbloïr in Chrétien de Troyes's Perceval.^[2]
• 1470 – The participle esblouyssant “dazzling” is recorded.^[2]
• 1538 – Robert Estienne records the spelling esblouir.^[4]
• 1552 – Ronsard uses it of beauty that strikes with admiration.^[2][5]
• 1559 – Amyot uses it for “to beguile, deceive”.^[2][5]
• 1636 – Monet records the spelling éblouir.^[4]
• 1690 – Furetière records the intransitive use.^[2]

Meanings

Verb

1. To dazzle: to trouble someone's sight with a light too bright to bear, also used without an object of the light itself.^[9][10][2]
2. (technology) To saturate a receiver, such as a radar, with intense radiation.^[9]
3. (figurative) To strike with admiration, to amaze.^[9][2]
4. (figurative, dated) To beguile by a false brilliance or a specious show.^[9][5]
5. S'éblouir (literary): to let oneself be fascinated or made proud.^[8]

Word family

• éblouissement
• éblouissant

Related words

• Frankish *blaudi

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
3. ^ a b c d Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
4. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 15/1, 152a
7. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
9. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
10. ^ Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)