agression

Forms

agression f (plural agressions)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Late Latin aggressiō (“attack”), found in Apuleius.^[2][3][1] The Latin noun was formed on the supine of Latin aggredior (“to attack”), from ad- and gradior (“to walk”), itself related to gradus (“step”).^[4] Rey explains its particular sense as a rendering of a Greek military term.^[4] The FEW treats it under aggressor, the source of agresseur (1404).^[5][6][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found about 1395 in Jean Bouteiller's Somme rural, meaning an attack: if one neighbour's beast kills another's sans aggression, that is, without having been attacked.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

The word has been in use since it entered French.^[4] In Old French it also meant “arrival, approach”, according to the FEW.^[4] Littré quotes 16th-century uses from La Noue and Martin Du Bellay, where the blame for the aggression falls on the one who began it.^[7]

In the 20th century it took a psychological value from English and German, as in instinct d'agression,^[4][8] and in international politics non-agression (1932) named an undertaking not to attack a country.^[4] It is also used of attacks on the body or mind from the environment, such as agression microbienne.^[8]

Timeline

• c. 1395 – First recorded, in Bouteiller's Somme rural.^[2][4]
• 1404 – Agresseur is borrowed from Latin.^[4]
• 1468 – Chastellain uses it of an unprovoked attack.^[9]
• 1476 – A Poitou document uses it for a violent attack.^[5]
• 1932 – Non-agression appears in international politics.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. A sudden, unprovoked and violent attack on a person: il a été victime d'une agression dans le métro.^[8][10][2]
2. (criminal law) An attack on persons or property protected by the criminal law.^[8]
3. (international law) An armed attack by one state on another, not justified by self-defence: guerre d'agression.^[8][10]
4. (psychology) Instinct d'agression: the drive to attack, agressivité.^[8]
5. An attack on a person's physical or mental integrity by an outside agent, as in stress.^[8][10]
6. (figurative) Words or an attitude meant to hurt someone morally.^[2]

Word family

• non-agression

Related words

• agresseur
• agresser
• agressif
• Latin aggressiō

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e 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 c d e f g h i j Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b Dictionnaire du Moyen Français, version 2015 (DMF 2015), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/dmf
6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 24, 262a
7. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ a b c d e f g Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
10. ^ a b c Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)