Etymologically
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énergie

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /e.nɛʁ.ʒi/[1]

Forms

énergie f (plural énergies)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Late Latin energīa (“force, energy”),[2][3][4][5] from Ancient Greek ἐνέργεια (enérgeia, “force in action”), as opposed to δύναμις (dúnamis, “potential force”);[2][4] the Greek word comes from ἐνεργής (energḗs, “active”), from “en” “in” and Ancient Greek ἔργον (érgon, “work”),[6][7] which belongs with organe to an Indo-European root “*werg-” “to act”, as in English work and German werken.[3]

The modern physical sense owes much to English energy.[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Jardin de santé (about 1500) uses it for the power, efficacy of an agent;[2][3] Bloch and Wartburg note it was rare before the 17th century.[4]

Semantic evolution

Richelet (1680) has it of style, un mot plein d'énergie, “force, vigour”.[2][3] In the Revolutionary Moniteur (1790) it meant firmness and determination in action, and l'énergie du désespoir dates from the same year;[2][3] Balzac (1829) uses it for physical vitality.[3][6]

In physics, after Latin energia and Galileo's Italian energia, it had some uses in the early 18th century, but the modern concept emerged in English (energy, 1851) and reached French in an 1854 translation of Thomson, with énergie totale, actuelle, potentielle;[3] the TLFi notes Thomas Young's use of energy in physics in 1807.[2] Énergie cinétique followed (1870), and in 1877 Littré records the scientific sense.[3][2] Since then the word has also named industrially produced power (sources d'énergie).[3][6] English took energy from French in the 1590s, in the sense “force of expression”.[7]

Timeline

  • c. 1500 – Énergie “efficacy”, in the Jardin de santé.[2]
  • 1584 – Énergique.[4]
  • 1590s – English energy.[7]
  • 1680 – Force of style, in Richelet.[2]
  • 1790 – “Determination”, l'énergie du désespoir.[3]
  • 1854 – Énergie potentielle, in a translation of Thomson.[3]
  • 1877 – The physical sense, in Littré.[2]
  • 1889 – Énergie cinétique et potentielle in Bergson.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (physics) Energy: énergie cinétique, énergie potentielle, énergie nucléaire, énergie solaire.[6][1]
  2. Power used for industry, transport and homes: sources d'énergie, économiser l'énergie.[6][8]
  3. Physical vitality, vigour: plein d'énergie.[9][6]
  4. Strength of will, determination: avec l'énergie du désespoir.[9][3]
  5. Force, vigour of expression: un style plein d'énergie.[9][2]

Word family

  • énergique
  • énergiquement
  • énergisant
  • énergétique
  • organe
  • énergumène
  • Ancient Greek ἐνέργεια (enérgeia)
  • English energy

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 m 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 l m Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c d Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 3, 225b
  6. ^ a b c d e f Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  7. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  8. ^ Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
  9. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert