évanouir

Forms

évanouir^[1] Old French esvanir, refashioned as esvanoïr, which was also used intransitively until the 17th century.^[2][3] The modern spelling is recorded from the 16th century.^[4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French esvanir, inherited from Vulgar Latin *exvāniō, an alteration of Latin ēvānēscō (“to vanish, pass away”), itself derived from vānus (“empty”).^{[5][2][6][1][7]} The Old French form was remade as esvanoïr, probably under the influence of the Latin verb's perfect tense, made familiar by the verse of Luke's Gospel on the risen Jesus at Emmaus, “Et ipse evanuit ex oculis eorum” (“and he vanished out of their sight”).^[5][2][6][3] Bloch and Wartburg call it a remarkable example of the influence of Church Latin on the spoken language.^[6]

The unaltered form survives in Norman évanir.^[6] Cognate with Italian svanire and Old Occitan esvanoir.^[6][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded about 1150 as soi esvanir in the Roman de Thèbes, meaning “to faint”; the sense “to vanish” follows about 1160 in the Eneas.^[5][2]

Semantic evolution

Both of today's main senses, fainting and vanishing without a trace, were present from the first records.^[2] From the sense of vanishing came the figurative “to cease to exist”, used about 1360, in Oresme.^[2][4] The intransitive esvanoïr remained in use until the 17th century; the reflexive construction is found about 1265 in Jean de Meun.^[2][4]

The action noun évanouissement first meant loss of consciousness and then (1456–1467) disappearance, a use now literary.^[2] The adjective évanouissant (19th century), from the present participle, is rare; in mathematics a quantité évanouissante is one tending to zero.^[2] Littré also records faire évanouir une inconnue in algebra, to eliminate an unknown from an equation.^[8]

Timeline

• c. 1150 – Soi esvanir “to faint” in the Roman de Thèbes.^[5]
• c. 1160 – Esvanir “to disappear” in the Eneas.^[5]
• Late 12th century – S'esvanuïst in Gautier d'Arras's Eracle.^[5]
• 13th century – The noun esvanuïscement is recorded.^[2]
• c. 1265 – Jean de Meun uses the reflexive verb.^[4]
• c. 1360 – Figurative sense “to cease to exist”.^[2]
• 16th century – The spelling évanouir is recorded.^[4]
• 17th century – The intransitive use goes out.^[2][3]

Meanings

Verb

1. S'évanouir: to disappear without a trace, to stop being visible.^[9][5] La silhouette du cavalier s'évanouit dans le brouillard.^[9][5]
2. (figurative) S'évanouir: to cease to exist, to fade away.^[9] Tous ses espoirs se sont évanouis.^[9]
3. S'évanouir: to lose consciousness, to faint.^[9][1] Il s'est évanoui en voyant la seringue.^[9][1]
4. Faire évanouir: to dispel or destroy; in algebra, to eliminate an unknown.^[8]

Word family

• évanouissement

Related words

• évanescent
• vain
• Latin ēvānēscō

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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
3. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d e Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
5. ^ a b c d e f g h 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. ^ a b c d e Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
7. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 3, 251a
8. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
9. ^ a b c d e f Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert