émir

Forms

émir m (plural émirs)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Arabic أَمِير (ʾamīr, “commander, chief, prince”), a derivative of the Arabic verb meaning “to order, command”.^{[2][3][4][1][5]} The same Arabic word had earlier given amiral.^[3][4][6] Littré notes that the title appears in old texts as amiret and amirant.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in the 13th century in the Old French translation of William of Tyre, the Roman d'Eracle: mès leur chevetaines, que il claiment Emir en leur langage (“but their chieftains, whom they call Emir in their language”), meaning the chief of a province or tribe.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

The word stayed rare until the 16th century.^[3][4][8] In 1575 Thevet uses it as the title of the descendants of Muhammad, and in particular for the head of the Muslim world at the beginning of the Hegira.^[2][3] Bloch and Wartburg date it only from 1672.^[6]

In the 19th century it came to mean a prince or military chief, especially the ruler of a territory, and in the 20th century it was specialised for the head of a Muslim state, whence émirat (1938) and the Émirats arabes unis.^[3][2] In Algerian French émir is also used of the leader of an armed Islamist group.^[3]

Timeline

• 13th century – The Old French William of Tyre uses Emir for a chief of province or tribe.^[2]
• 1575 – Thevet uses it as the title of the descendants of Muhammad.^[2][3]
• 1672 – Bloch and Wartburg's date for the word.^[6]
• 1812 – Mozin records the sense “high officer or governor of the Ottoman Empire, Arab prince”.^[8]
• 1938 – The derivative émirat appears in the Tharaud brothers.^[2][3]

Meanings

Noun

1. (historical) A title given to the head of the Muslim world, the caliph, and later to the descendants of the Prophet.^[9][2][8]
2. An Arab prince, governor or military chief; the head of a tribe or territory.^[9][2][8]
3. The head of state of an emirate: l'émir du Qatar.^[9][3]
4. Émir des pèlerins: the commander of the pilgrim caravans going to Mecca.^[2]
5. (Algeria) The leader of an armed Islamist group.^[3]

Word family

• émirat

Related words

• amiral
• English emir

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 19, 5a
6. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
7. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
9. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert