aimable

Forms

aimable (plural aimables)^[1] Old French amable, still found in the 16th century;^[2][3][4] aimable appears in the 14th century.^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French amable, inherited from Latin amābilis (“lovable”),^[5][2][1][6] from amō (“to love”).^[3][7] The modern form was remade after aimer, whose ⟨ai⟩, regular only in the forms stressed on the stem, spread through the whole verb and to the adjective.^[2][8] Once the new form had won over the old one in the 16th century, the adjective was felt as a derivative of the French verb.^[9] Bloch and Wartburg think that the old form, when still found in the 16th century, was probably a Latinism.^[2]

Cognate with Occitan amable, Italian amabile, Spanish amable and Catalan amable.^[7][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded as amable about 1165 in Aliscans, of a human quality “of a nature to please”: parole amable.^[5] In 1170 the Quatre livres des reis uses it of a person who deserves to be loved, and about 1170 the form aimable appears in a life of Edward the Confessor.^[5]

Semantic evolution

Its first sense was “worthy of being loved”, which the Latin adjective already had in Plautus.^[5] Like other complimentary social adjectives, it lost this strong meaning in everyday use; since the late 18th and early 19th century it described people pleasant to be with.^[9] It then entered polite formulas (1771), and today mainly means “kind, obliging”; the old sense is archaic.^[9][10]

A noun un aimable “a man of fashion” (1734) has disappeared, and the derivatives amableté and aimabilité gave way to the borrowing amabilité (1683).^[9] The Old French form survives as the first name Amable, after Saint Amable.^[9]

Timeline

• c. 1165 – Amable appears in Aliscans.^[5]
• c. 1170 – The form aimable appears in a life of Edward the Confessor.^[5]
• 14th century – Aimable becomes the usual form; the adverb aimablement appears.^[3][9]
• 16th century – Aimable prevails over amable.^[9]
• 1683 – Amabilité is borrowed from Latin.^[9]
• 1734 – The noun un aimable “a man of fashion” is recorded.^[9]
• 1771 – It enters polite formulas.^[9]

Meanings

Adjective

1. (archaic) Worthy of being loved.^[10][4][5]
2. (dated) Pleasant, attractive.^[10][4]
3. Kind, obliging, eager to please; friendly and courteous.^[10][4] Elle a été très aimable avec nous.^[10][4]
4. In polite formulas, thanking someone or asking a favour: vous êtes bien aimable.^[9][10]
5. (ironic) Unpleasant: une aimable plaisanterie “a joke not to be taken seriously”.^[4]

Word family

• aimablement

Related words

• aimer
• amabilité
• amiable
• Latin amābilis

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
3. ^ a b c d Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d e f g Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
5. ^ a b c d e f g 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
6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 24, 382a
7. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ Picoche, Jacqueline (1991), Dictionnaire étymologique du français, Paris: Le Robert (Les Usuels du Robert)
9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
10. ^ a b c d e f Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert