électrique

Forms

électrique (plural électriques)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from New Latin ēlectricus (“of amber”), a word that the English physicist William Gilbert seems to have been the first to use, in his “De Magnete” (1600).^[2][3][4] The TLFi treats the French adjective as a calque of the English word electrick (attested from 1646), itself from the New Latin word.^[2][5][6] The New Latin word was formed on Latin ēlectrum (“amber”), from Ancient Greek ἤλεκτρον (ḗlektron, “amber; alloy of gold and silver”),^[2][3][4] a derivative of ἠλέκτωρ (ēléktōr, “beaming”), whose origin is obscure.^[3]

The name came from amber, the first substance in which attraction and repulsion were observed: rubbed amber draws light bodies to it, which was known in antiquity.^[2][4][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in 1678, in the Journal des Savants, in corps électriques “electric bodies”, substances which, like amber, attract light objects when rubbed.^[2][3] Bloch and Wartburg date it to 1660.^[4][5]

Semantic evolution

At first the adjective described bodies able to take or pass on what was later called electricity, and then anything relating to electricity, a sense that English had in Newton by 1675.^[3] In the 18th and above all the 19th century it entered many set phrases, often after English models: courant électrique (1806), éclairage électrique (1856) and lumière électrique (1864), after English electric light.^[3] In literary use it describes what has the startling effect of an electric shock, and familiarly something charged with static electricity.^[8]

Timeline

• 1600 – William Gilbert uses New Latin electricus in De Magnete.^[2][3]
• 1646 – English electrick is recorded.^[2][6]
• 1660 – Bloch and Wartburg's date for the French word.^[4]
• 1678 – Corps électriques appears in the Journal des Savants.^[2]
• 1720 – Pierre Coste's translation of Newton's Opticks has attraction électrique.^[2][3]
• 1806 – Courant électrique is recorded.^[3]
• 1856 – Éclairage électrique appears in a report by E. Becquerel.^[3]
• 1864 – Lumière électrique is recorded.^[3]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Relating to electricity: courant électrique, charge électrique.^[8][6]
2. Of a device or technique: producing, carrying or using electric power: Ils ont acheté une voiture électrique.^[8]
3. (literary) Having the startling effect of an electric shock.^[8]
4. (familiar) Charged with static electricity.^[8]
5. Bleu électrique: a bright, vivid blue.^[8]
6. (obsolete) Able to take or pass on electricity, as amber does when rubbed.^[6][9]

Word family

• électricien
• électrifier
• électriser
• électriquement

Related words

• électricité
• électrum
• électron
• Latin ēlectrum
• English electric

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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 k Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d e Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
5. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ a b c d e f Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
9. ^ Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse