éconduire

Forms

éconduire^[1] Old French escondire; written esconduire in the 15th century and éconduire from the 17th.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French escondire (“to excuse oneself, to refuse”), inherited from Late Latin excondīcō (“to excuse oneself, to refute an accusation”), a 9th-century compound of ex- and condīcō (“to agree on, to settle”).^[3][4][5] In the 15th century the Old French verb was remade under the influence of conduire, whose likeness of form drew the two meanings together, and it was then felt to be a compound of that verb.^[5][3][6] The Grand Robert and the Petit Robert take the prefix as negative here.^[6][7] The Latin simple verb is from dīcō (“to say”).^[4][2]

Cognate with Old Occitan escondire.^[5][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

Old French escondire is first found about 1050 in the Vie de saint Alexis, as a reflexive verb meaning “to excuse oneself”; as a transitive verb meaning “to refuse, to reject” it appears about 1170 in the Livre des Rois.^[3][4] The form éconduire is first recorded about 1485 in the Mystère du Viel Testament, meaning to get rid of a person or a request more or less politely.^[3]

Semantic evolution

S'escondire “to excuse oneself” was common until the 16th century.^[5] After its remaking on conduire, the verb came to mean getting rid of a person and, by extension, dismissing someone.^[4] Rabelais still writes esconduire for refusing a request.^[8] A technical sense, “to lead (water) out” (1876), did not last.^[4][3]

Timeline

• c. 1050 – S'escondire “to excuse oneself” in the Vie de saint Alexis.^[3][4]
• c. 1170 – Transitive escondire “to refuse, to reject” in the Livre des Rois.^[3]
• c. 1485 – The remade form appears in the Mystère du Viel Testament.^[3][6]
• 1546 – Rabelais uses esconduire for turning someone away.^[2][8]
• 1876 – A technical sense, of water led out through a sewer.^[3]

Meanings

Verb

1. To rebuff or turn down someone who asks for something; to reject a suitor.^[7][3]
2. To dismiss someone, to show them the door.^[7][8]
3. (literary) To reject a request or a thing.^[2]

Related words

• conduire
• dire

References

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