Etymologically
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épreuve

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Pronunciation

Forms

épreuve f (plural épreuves)[1] Old French esprove, esprueve (13th century) and espreuve (14th century);[2][3] Monet records épreuve in 1636.[2]

Etymology

It is a deverbal noun formed from éprouver.[4][2][5][6] The verb, Old French esprover, is formed from prouver with the prefix é-, and goes back to Latin probō (“to test; to approve; to prove”).[1][7] The vowel /ou/ of the verb became /eu/ in its stressed forms, as in the old present tense of trouver, and the noun took the stressed vowel.[3]

Compare Old Occitan esproa.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found as esprove about 1175 in Benoît de Sainte-Maure's Chronique des ducs de Normandie, meaning the action of testing something or someone.[4][5] The GLLF dates this first record about 1160.[2]

Semantic evolution

From the start the word meant both a test and, specially, a trial that makes someone suffer, whence l'épreuve, adversity, now literary.[5][8] In feudal law the épreuve judiciaire was an ordalie (ordeal), a test in which God was asked to show the guilty party.[5][8] From about 1265 (Jean de Meun) it was what allows the worth of an idea or a person to be judged, whence à l'épreuve (1587), mettre à l'épreuve and à l'épreuve de “able to withstand” (late 16th century); à toute épreuve dates from the late 17th century.[5][2] In the classical period it could also mean “proof, testimony” (1670, Molière).[5][2] A test of the qualities of a thing gave the technical and scientific uses, and by metonymy the word named a surgical probe (1314).[5][3]

From the 16th century it was used of the result of a trial: a printer's proof (before 1615, Pasquier), then an engraver's proof (1680), a photographic print (1857) and, in the 20th century, film rushes.[4][5][2] An examination is made up of épreuves (late 19th century), and in sport an épreuve is an event or race (1853, horse racing).[2][8]

Timeline

  • c. 1175 – Esprove in Benoît de Sainte-Maure.[4]
  • c. 1265 – A means of judging worth, in Jean de Meun.[2]
  • 1314 – A surgical probe, in Henri de Mondeville.[5][3]
  • 1587 – À l'épreuve.[5]
  • Before 1615 – A printer's proof, in Pasquier.[4]
  • 1636 – Monet records the spelling épreuve.[2]
  • 1680 – An engraver's proof, in Richelet.[2][5]
  • 1853 – A sporting event, in horse racing.[8]
  • 1857 – A photographic print.[5]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A painful experience, ordeal or misfortune that tests one's courage: traverser de rudes épreuves, (literary) l'épreuve, adversity.[8][1]
  2. A test of worth or quality: mettre quelqu'un à l'épreuve, mettre à rude épreuve, à toute épreuve, able to withstand anything, à l'épreuve des balles, bulletproof.[8][1]
  3. A trial of a machine or material: épreuve de résistance.[8][4]
  4. (history) Épreuves judiciaires: ordeals by fire or water.[8]
  5. One of the papers or parts of an examination: les épreuves écrites.[8]
  6. (sports) An event, heat or race: une épreuve contre la montre.[8][1]
  7. (printing, engraving) A proof: corriger les épreuves.[8][1]
  8. (photography) A print, (film, television) épreuves de tournage, rushes.[8][1]

Word family

  • contre-épreuve

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  3. ^ a b c d e Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  4. ^ a b c d e f 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
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 9, 406a
  7. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert