accorder

Pronunciation

• IPA: /a.kɔʁ.de/^[1]

Forms

accorder^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French acorder, inherited from Vulgar Latin *accordō (“to agree; to bring into agreement”),^{[2][3][4][5][6]} formed by a change of prefix from Latin concordō (“to agree”), which in Late Latin also meant “to reconcile”, after other verbs with these prefixes.^[2][3] The base is cor (“heart”) (see cœur), with the influence of chorda (“string of an instrument”) (see corde) for the musical sense.^[2][4][5][7] Littré rejects Ménage's derivation from the word for a string and points to Latin concors (“of one mind”).^[8] Meyer-Lübke's REW gives a form *acchordō “to tune strings”, and Bloch and Wartburg date the musical sense only from the 14th century.^[9][3]

Cognate with Italian accordare, Spanish acordar and Old Occitan acordar;^[3][8] Italian has both senses, Spanish and Old Occitan only the moral one.^[3][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Chanson de Roland (about 1100) uses it for “to reconcile” and reflexively for “to make peace with”: À Charlemagne se voudrat acorder.^[2][8]

Semantic evolution

From the 12th century it took the legal sense “to decide”, since lost, and then “to conclude an agreement” (1291), “to concede, grant” and “to admit as true”.^[2] S'accorder was used of things that harmonize (1170), still a usual sense.^[2] In the 15th century it meant to promise a girl in marriage, whence accordailles (1539); the sense survives in western dialects.^[2][3] Grammar has accorder (15th century) and s'accorder (1607) for agreement between words, and painting s'accorder (1677).^[2]

Under the influence of chorda the verb meant to use the voice or an instrument in harmony (1158–80), to play together (about 1200) and, in the 14th century, to tune an instrument, whence accordeur (1325; piano tuner, 1768).^[2][3] The noun accord (acort, about 1160, Wace) is formed from the verb.^[2]

Timeline

• c. 1100 – “To reconcile”, Chanson de Roland.^[2]
• c. 1160 – The noun acort (accord), Wace.^[2]
• 1170 – S'acorder of things that harmonize.^[2]
• 1291 – “To conclude an agreement”.^[2]
• 14th century – “To tune an instrument”.^[2][3]
• 15th century – Grammatical agreement;^[2] “to betroth”.^[2]
• 1539 – accordailles.^[3]

Meanings

Verb

1. To grant, allow, (sports) to award a penalty.^[5][1]
2. To admit, concede.^[5][7]
3. To bring into harmony, reconcile, (classical) to make peace between people.^[5][7]
4. (grammar) To make a word agree with another.^[1][2]
5. (music) To tune an instrument, accorder ses violons, to agree on what to say or do.^[1][5]
6. S'accorder: to agree, come to an agreement; to get on well; of things, to go together, match, (grammar) to agree.^[1][5]
7. (old or regional) To betroth.^[5][3]

Word family

• accord
• accordailles
• accordeur
• désaccord
• désaccorder
• raccorder
• raccord
• raccordement

Related words

• concorder
• cœur
• corde

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
4. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b c d e f g h Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert 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. 24, 83b
7. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
8. ^ a b c d Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
9. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter