allergique

Forms

allergique (plural allergiques)^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from French allergie + -ique, on the model of German allergisch (1906), according to the TLFi;^[2] the Grand Robert and the Petit Robert allow either, and Rey takes it as a borrowing of the German adjective.^[3][4][5] The noun goes back to a German word coined from Ancient Greek ἄλλος (állos, “other”) and ἔργον (érgon, “work, action”).^[6][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded in 1920, in Larousse, for what relates to allergy; the TLFi's first record is a medical use of July 1922.^[6][3][2]

Semantic evolution

Like the noun, it became an everyday word, and it also took the figurative sense “instinctively hostile”, as in être allergique à something one cannot bear.^[5][6][4]

Timeline

• 1906 – German allergisch is coined.^[3][5]
• 1920 – First French record, in Larousse.^[6][3]
• 1922 – Medical use in the Larousse mensuel illustré.^[2]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Relating to or caused by an allergy: une réaction allergique.^[4][2]
2. Having an allergy to a substance: être allergique au pollen.^[4][6]
3. (figurative, familiar) Unable to bear something, averse to it.^[4][6]

Related words

• allergie
• allergène

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b c d Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ a b c d e f Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse