affilier

Forms

affilier^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Medieval Latin affiliō (“to adopt as a son”), a legal term,^[2][3][4] formed from ad- and Latin fīlius (“son”).^[3][1] The Medieval Latin verb is found as early as 984.^[2]

Littré compares Old Occitan afilhar, Catalan afillar and Spanish ahijar, and thought from them that the French word was older than its records.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in the 14th century, in L'Arbre des batailles, meaning “to adopt as a son”: the pope could give Queen Joan the power to have affilié le roy Loys “adopted King Louis” as her son.^[2][6]

Semantic evolution

The Trévoux dictionary of 1752 already called this sense old.^[2] In 1701 Furetière records a religious sense, to make someone a sharer in all that is holy in a religious order, where the idea of sonship is still felt.^[2][3][7] In 1762 the Académie has the reflexive of one society taking on a similar one as a daughter, with the example of the Académie française and provincial academies.^[2]

The modern sense, to admit as a member of a group, dates from the 18th century (1732 in Bloch and Wartburg and the Petit Robert) and spread during the Revolution, with the reflexive “to join” from 1791.^[3][4][8] The Académie records this reflexive in 1798.^[2]

Timeline

• 984 – The Medieval Latin verb is recorded.^[2]
• 14th century – L'Arbre des batailles uses it for “to adopt as a son”.^[2][6]
• 1701 – Furetière records the religious sense.^[2][3]
• 1732 – The broader modern sense is dated.^[4][8]
• 1752 – The Trévoux dictionary calls the sense “adopt” old.^[2]
• 1762 – The Académie records the reflexive of a society taking on another.^[2]
• 1791 – The reflexive “to join” is in use.^[3]
• 1798 – The Académie records the reflexive “to join”.^[2]

Meanings

Verb

1. To bring (a group) into a larger association, to attach it to a parent society, mostly in the past participle affilié.^[8][6]
2. To admit (someone) as a member of an organization, to enroll.^[8][2]
3. (reflexive) To join a party, union or other group.^[8][6]
4. (obsolete) To adopt as a son.^[2][3]

Word family

• affilié

Related words

• affiliation
• fils
• filiation
• Latin fīlius

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o 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 g 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. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
6. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
7. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert