épisode

Pronunciation

• IPA: /e.pi.zɔd/^[1]

Forms

épisode m (plural épisodes)^[1] Épisodie (15th century to the early 17th, d'Aubigné); épisode from 1637; its gender varied in the 17th century.^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek ἐπεισόδιον (epeisódion, “addition; part of a play between choral songs”),^[5][2][3][6] the neuter of ἐπεισόδιος (epeisódios, “coming in besides”), from ἐπείσοδος (epeísodos, “entrance”), formed from “epi” and εἴσοδος (eísodos, “entry”), from “eis” “into” and Ancient Greek ὁδός (hodós, “road, way”).^[2][3][7] Bloch and Wartburg note that the path of the 15th-century form is uncertain.^[3]

English episode (1670s) is from French or directly from Greek.^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

Georges de Scudéry's Observations sur le Cid (1637) use épisode for an incident or action attached to the main one, criticising the episode of the Infanta.^[5][9]

Semantic evolution

In the theatre it named an action secondary to the main plot (Corneille, 1660: Aristote blâme fort les épisodes détachés), and later the same in novels, poetry, painting and the cinema.^[2][10] In 1660 it also took the rhetorical sense of a dialogue part of Greek tragedy between choral songs.^[2][7] Before 1696 La Bruyère used it for any incident within a larger whole (un épisode de la Révolution).^[2][7] In the mid-20th century it came to mean a part of a serial (film à épisodes, suite au prochain épisode).^[7][10] Épisodique dates from 1633, and its sense “occasional” is modern.^[2]

Timeline

• 15th century – Épisodie.^[5]
• 1633 – Épisodique.^[2]
• 1637 – Épisode in Scudéry.^[5]
• 1660 – In Corneille.^[3]
• 1670s – English episode.^[8]
• Before 1696 – “Incident”, in La Bruyère.^[7]
• Mid-20th century – A part of a serial.^[7]

Meanings

Noun

1. An episode, incident in a series of events: un épisode de la guerre.^[10][11]
2. A secondary action in a play, novel or poem.^[10][7]
3. An instalment, episode (of a serial): film à épisodes.^[10][11]
4. (Greek drama) A part between two choral songs.^[7][11]
5. (music) An episode (in a fugue).^[5][4]

Word family

• épisodique
• épisodiquement

Related words

• exode
• méthode
• Ancient Greek ἐπεισόδιον (epeisódion)
• English episode

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ a b c d e Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
4. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
5. ^ a b c d e 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
6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 3, 228a
7. ^ a b c d e f g h Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
8. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
9. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
10. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
11. ^ a b c Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)