adepte

Forms

adepte (plural adeptes)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from New Latin adeptus (“one who has attained”), a word of the alchemists' Latin, the past participle of adipīscor (“to reach, attain”) used as a noun.^[2][3][4][5] According to the TLFi, citing Du Cange, Paracelsus and van Helmont used it as an equivalent of Latin mysta (“initiate”).^[2] The verb is formed ad- and apīscor (“to reach, grasp”), which Rey describes as an inchoative of apiō (“to fasten, bind”), the verb behind apte.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The word first appears in 1630, as Adepts, in a letter of J. B. van Helmont to Father Mersenne, for alchemists believed to have achieved the great work.^[2][6] In 1631 Helmont asks Mersenne not to give him the title of Adepte.^[2]

Semantic evolution

From the alchemist the word passed in 1723 to a person initiated into a sect or an esoteric doctrine.^[3][7] Bloch and Wartburg date the modern sense to 1771 and explain it by the use of the word in the secret societies of the time, especially freemasonry.^[4] In 1775 d'Alembert applied it to those initiated into an art.^[2]

The neutral modern sense, “follower, partisan”, without any idea of initiation, spread in the early 19th century, probably under the influence of the English word adept.^[3][7][2] In current French it also names someone who practises an activity or a sport.^[7][8]

Timeline

• 1630 – Van Helmont writes of Adepts in a letter to Mersenne.^[2][6]
• 1631 – The form adepte appears in his next letter.^[2]
• 1723 – It names a person initiated into a sect.^[3][7]
• 1771 – The modern sense appears in the language of secret societies.^[4]
• 1775 – D'Alembert uses it for those initiated into an art.^[2]
• early 19th century – The sense “follower, supporter” spreads.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. (historical) An alchemist who had attained the great work.^[7][2]
2. A person initiated into an esoteric doctrine or the secrets of an art.^[7][2]
3. A follower of a religion or a member of a sect, a partisan of a doctrine, also faire des adeptes “to win followers”.^[7][8]
4. A person who practises an activity or a sport, an enthusiast.^[7][8]

Related words

• apte
• adapter
• Latin adeptus
• English adept

Usage notes

Littré gives the pronunciation with a sounded ⟨p⟩ and warns against adette, heard in some provinces.^[9]

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k 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 c d e f Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
5. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
7. ^ 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
8. ^ a b c Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
9. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette