Etymologically
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écarter

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /e.kaʁ.te/[1]

Forms

écarter[1] Old French escarter.[2][3]

Etymology

It probably continues inherited from Vulgar Latin *exquartō (“to divide into four”), from ex- with intensive force and quartus (“fourth”) (see quart);[4][5][6][2][3][7] the original sense, kept in Italian squartare, is “to quarter”, whence “to separate”, the only sense found in French.[6][5] See also écarteler.[2]

Pierre Guiraud proposed instead Vulgar Latin *excoartō (“to loosen, separate”), from coartō (“to press together”).[5][2] Littré derived all its senses from discarding at cards, from carte, but admitted a confusion with esquarter;[8][1] Wiktionary reports Pianigiani's Latin excerpō (“to pick out”).[8][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

A late 13th-century Chronique de Terre Sainte has avoir escarté l'ost, “to have moved away from the main army”.[4][5] The GLLF gives 1249, escarter “to move away from”.[3]

Semantic evolution

The reflexive “to move off, go aside” is in the Mystère du Viel Testament (about 1450), and the transitive “to put at a distance” in Montchrestien (1604).[4][5] In 1573 it is used for spreading the parts of a thing apart, and in Noël du Fail (1585) s'écarter is to wander from a subject, whence s'écarter de la raison (Du Ryer, 1647).[4][5] Racine (1672) uses it figuratively for keeping something away from someone, a danger for instance, and, from 1690 it means to set aside an idea.[4][5]

In some French regions it means to spread out, as washing to dry, and in Canada, by extension of “to put aside”, “to mislay”.[5] The noun écart (about 1200) followed it in concrete and abstract senses.[5][6]

Timeline

  • 1249 – Escarter “to move away”.[3]
  • Late 13th century – Avoir escarté l'ost.[4]
  • c. 1450 – S'écarter “to go aside”.[4]
  • 1557 – écartement.[6]
  • 1573 – “To spread apart”.[4]
  • 1585 – S'écarter “to digress”, Noël du Fail.[4]
  • 1604 – “To keep at a distance”, Montchrestien.[4]
  • 1672 – Figurative “to keep away”, Racine.[4]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To move apart, spread, open: écarter les doigts, les bras, écarter les rideaux.[9][1]
  2. To move away, push aside: écarter la foule, écarter une table du mur.[9]
  3. To keep away, avert: écarter un danger.[5][4]
  4. To dismiss, rule out, reject; to remove someone from a post.[1][5]
  5. S'écarter: to move aside, step away; to deviate, stray: s'écarter du sujet.[1][5]
  6. (Canada, Louisiana) To lose, s'écarter, to get lost.[5][1]

Word family

  • écart
  • écartement

Usage notes

A separate verb écarter “to discard” at cards (Cotgrave, 1611) is formed from carte, perhaps influenced by Italian scartare; its past participle gave the card game écarté (1810).[4][2][9]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  3. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m 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
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ a b c d Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  7. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 3, 315a
  8. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  9. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert