Etymologically
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écraser

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /e.kʁa.ze/[1]

Forms

écraser[1] Escrager (Ronsard), ecrazer (Montluc, Montaigne); the Académie wrote escraser in 1694 and 1718, écraser from 1740.[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is formed with the intensive prefix é- (Latin ex-) on borrowed from Middle English crasen (“to break, shatter”) (about 1440), probably borrowed during the Hundred Years' War.[4][5][6][7][2][8] The English verb, which became English craze, is probably of Scandinavian origin, Wiktionary reconstructs Old Norse *krasa (“to shatter”), ultimately imitative.[4][5][1] Bloch and Wartburg note that French at once gave it the prefix “é-”, common in verbs of similar meaning; dialects of Geneva and the Berry have “acraser”.[7][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Ronsard (1560) uses it for flattening and deforming by pressure: a horse's kick escrageant a man's skull.[4][5][3]

Semantic evolution

Montaigne speaks of peasants letting their fingertips be ecrazez.[3] In 1659 Corneille has s'écraser, to be killed by falling, écraser meant to kill or try to kill (1680), and, from the early 18th century a vehicle écrase someone it runs over.[4][5] Figuratively it is to crush an opponent (1690, Furetière), and, from the 19th century to overwhelm (écrasé de travail), to humiliate, and to dwarf by its mass.[4][5]

Familiar French has en écraser “to sleep soundly” (1908) and, from about 1950, s'écraser “to shut up, give in”, with écrase ! “drop it!”.[4][5][1] An aircraft s'écrase when it crashes.[1][9]

Timeline

  • 1560 – “To crush”, Ronsard.[4]
  • 1659 – S'écraser, Corneille.[4]
  • 1680 – “To kill”.[5]
  • 1690 – To crush an opponent, Furetière.[4]
  • 1908 – En écraser “to sleep”.[4]
  • c. 1950 – S'écraser “to shut up”.[5]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To crush, squash: écraser sa cigarette, écraser une mouche, (cooking) to mash, crush: écraser l'ail.[9][1]
  2. To run over: se faire écraser par une voiture.[5][9]
  3. S'écraser: to crash: l'avion s'est écrasé.[1][9]
  4. To crush, defeat utterly: écraser l'adversaire; to overwhelm: écrasé de travail.[4][1]
  5. (computing) To overwrite (a file).[1]
  6. (familiar) S'écraser: to shut up, back down, en écraser, to sleep like a log.[5][1]

Word family

  • écrasement
  • écrasant
  • écraseur

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  3. ^ a b c d Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  7. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  8. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 16, 368b
  9. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert