établir

Pronunciation

• IPA: /e.ta.bliʁ/^[1]

Forms

établir^[1] Old French establir; the modern spelling prevails only after 1636.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French establir, inherited from Latin stabiliō (“to make firm, support, prop up”).^[4][5][2] The Latin verb is derived from stabilis (“firm, steady”), properly “able to stand upright”, which gave the adjective stable, and goes back to stō (“to stand”), from an Indo-European root meaning “to stand”.^[2][6] Littré instead posited an unattested Latin *stabilescō, on the model of the Spanish verb.^[7]

Cognate with Old Occitan establir, Spanish establecer and Italian stabilire.^[7][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the Chanson de Roland (about 1100) it means to draw up or form troops into battalions: Naimes li dux puis establist la quarte.^[4][7][2]

Semantic evolution

From the military sense of setting something firmly in place, the verb came to mean “to found, fix”.^[2] About 1155 Wace uses it for fixing something durably by law, and it was soon said of peace and liberty (about 1175) and of setting a date (about 1155); after 1250 it also meant “to decide”.^[4][2] The Petit Robert dates to about 1300 the sense of settling people somewhere, now dated.^[9]

Later senses include setting up one's residence (1538), proving a fact by argument (1656, Pascal), and settling a child by marriage or a position (1680, Richelet).^[6] The past participle used as a noun gave établi, a workbench (1390), and the verb formed établissement (1155) and rétablir (about 1120).^[8][4]

Timeline

• c. 1100 – Establir in the Chanson de Roland, of forming troops.^[4]
• 1155 – Wace uses it for fixing something by law.^[4][2]
• c. 1175 – Said of establishing peace or liberty.^[2]
• 1390 – The derived noun établi, a workbench.^[8][4]
• 1538 – Robert Estienne records the sense of fixing one's residence.^[6]
• 1636 – The spelling établir is recorded by Monet.^[6]
• 1656 – Pascal uses it for proving a fact.^[6]
• 1680 – Richelet records the sense of settling a child in life.^[6]

Meanings

Verb

1. To set or install something firmly in a place: établir une usine dans une ville, établir un camp.^[9][6]
2. To found, set up (an institution, a business, a government).^[6][1]
3. To institute durably (a rule, a custom, a doctrine).^[9][1]
4. To prove, demonstrate (a fact, a responsibility).^[9][1]
5. To draw up (a document, a bill, a list).^[1][9]
6. (sports) To set (a record).^[1]
7. (dated) To settle (a child) in life by marriage or a position.^[9][6]
8. S'établir: to settle somewhere, or to set up in business.^[9][1]

Word family

• établissement
• établi
• préétablir
• rétablir
• rétablissement

Related words

• stable
• étable
• Latin stabiliō

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 Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d e f g 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. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 12, 218a
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
7. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
9. ^ a b c d e f g Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert