Etymologically
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alibi

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /a.li.bi/[1]

Forms

alibi m (plural alibis or (archaic) alibi)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin alibī (“elsewhere”), an adverb derived from alius (“other”),[2][3][4][5][1][6] to which the legal Latin of the Middle Ages gave its special sense.[4][7] Littré analyses it as “alius” and “ibī” “there”.[8] Latin “alius” is of Indo-European origin, compare Ancient Greek ἄλλος (állos, “other”).[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

A document of 1394 records that the chronicler Froissart propose son alibi, swearing that on the day of the alleged offence he had gone with a squire to witness a sale of land.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

Besides the legal sense, the 15th and 16th centuries used alibi for a diversion (1494) and for a ruse or subterfuge (1458, Gréban), as in querir vos alibis; an alibi forain was a poor excuse, whence alibiforain (1549), now gone.[2][3][4]

The legal sense has lasted, and in the 19th century the word took again a figurative value, a circumstance or excuse that clears someone, or a diversion from an unpleasant reality: trouver dans la musique un alibi à sa tristesse.[2][3][9][10] Dictionaries long treated it as invariable in the plural (les alibi); it has been des alibis since the Académie of 1878.[2][8]

Timeline

  • 1394 – An alibi in law (Froissart's case).[2][3]
  • 1458 – A ruse (Gréban).[2]
  • 1494 – A diversion.[2][3]
  • 1549 – Alibiforain.[3]
  • 1878 – The plural alibis in the Académie.[2]
  • 19th century – An excuse, a pretext.[3][9]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (law) An alibi: fournir un alibi.[9][10]
  2. An excuse or pretext to clear oneself.[9][10]
  3. (literary) A diversion from an unpleasant reality.[10][7]

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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 h i 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. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 24, 316a
  7. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  8. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  9. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  10. ^ a b c d Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)