élégance

Forms

élégance f (uncountable)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin ēlegantia (“taste, refinement, distinction”), borrowed at the end of the 14th century and again at the end of the 15th.^[2][3][1] The Latin noun is formed on ēlegāns (“elegant”), the source of élégant.^[3][4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded in the late 14th-century Latin–French glossary Aalma.^[2] In 1495 Jean de Vignay's text has Elegance et suavité de langage “elegance and sweetness of speech”, the sense of refined expression.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

The word followed the history of élégant.^[3] At the end of the 15th century, in Jean Molinet, it also meant courtesy, distinction of manners,^[2][3] a sense developed in the 18th century for a person's dress and, by extension, for a fashionable gathering.^[3][6] Amyot and Montaigne used it in the 16th century, of a household's service and of style.^[5][7]

From 1690, mostly in the plural, élégances named turns of phrase recommended for their distinction, often with a pejorative tinge.^[2][3] In 1834 Sainte-Beuve used it for the trappings of high society.^[2] In the singular it is also used, approvingly, of good taste in moral or intellectual matters, as in the elegance of a proof.^[3][6] English elegance, about 1500, comes directly from Latin.^[8]

Timeline

• late 14th century – First recorded in the Aalma glossary.^[2]
• 1495 – Elegance … de langage in Jean de Vignay.^[2][3]
• late 15th century – Molinet uses it for courtesy of manners.^[2]
• 1690 – Vaugelas uses the plural for recommended turns of phrase.^[2]
• 1834 – Sainte-Beuve uses it for worldly refinements.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. Grace and harmony of form, the beauty of simple, well-proportioned lines: l'élégance d'un pont.^[6][2]
2. Refinement of style in speech or writing: elle écrit avec beaucoup d'élégance.^[6] Des élégances: studied turns of phrase, often pejorative.^[6][5]
3. Good taste and personal style in dress and manners: l'arbitre des élégances.^[6][3]
4. Good taste and ease in moral or intellectual matters: il a perdu avec élégance, the elegance of a solution.^[6]

Related words

• élégant
• inélégance
• Latin ēlegantia

References

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