accessibilité

Forms

accessibilité f (plural accessibilités)^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from French accessible + -ité.^[2][3][4] The religious sense recorded in 1824 was taken again from Christian Latin accessibilitās, found in Tertullian with the same meaning.^[2] Littré traced the word to that Latin noun, from accessibilis.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in 1630 in J. Doublet's journal, of a rock that offered no means of climbing it.^[2]

Semantic evolution

First used of places, the word took a religious sense in 1824 (Courier) and was applied to things in general by about 1900.^[2] The Académie recorded it in 1878 with the special sense of the conditions of access to an office or post.^[6] In current use it also names the ease with which a building or vehicle can be used by disabled people.^[7]

Timeline

• 1630 – First record, of a place, in J. Doublet.^[2][3]
• 1824 – Courier uses it in a religious sense.^[2]
• 1878 – The Académie records it for access to an office.^[6]
• 1900 – It is applied to things.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. The quality of being accessible, of a place or a thing that can be reached or entered: l'accessibilité d'un refuge.^[2][4][7]
2. The possibility or right of access to something, such as a post: l'accessibilité aux fonctions publiques.^[8][7][6]
3. The ease of use of a building, a vehicle or a service by disabled people.^[7]

Related words

• accessible
• inaccessible
• accès
• Late Latin accessibilitās
• English accessibility

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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
3. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
5. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
6. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ a b c d Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
8. ^ Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert