amer

amer¹ bitter

Etymology tree of amer¹

inherited borrowed derived

Latin amārus

French amer

Italian amaro

Romanian amar

Spanish amargo

From the same root · amer¹

Latin amāritūdō ← amārus

Latin amāror ← amārus

Pronunciation

• /a.mɛʁ/^[1]

Forms

amer (feminine amère, masculine plural amers, feminine plural amères)^[1]

Etymology

The word for “bitter” is inherited from Old French amer, inherited from Latin amārus (“bitter”), which Latin used both in the literal and in the figurative sense.^[2][3][4] Bloch and Wartburg think that the masculine kept its final consonant in pronunciation through the feminine amère.^[5] Rey considers the Latin word probably Indo-European and compares Germanic words such as Swedish amper (“sour”) and German Ampfer (“sorrel”);^[6] Wiktionary traces it to Proto-Indo-European *h₂eh₃mós (“bitter, raw”).^[1]

Cognate with Italian amaro, Romanian amar, Occitan amar and Spanish amargo.^[7][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

The figurative sense came first: about 1150 a war is pesanz et amere (“heavy and bitter”) in Chrétien de Troyes's Guillaume d'Angleterre; the literal taste is recorded in 1174 in Benoît's chronicle of the dukes of Normandy.^[2] Rey dates the figurative use to about 1130.^[6]

Semantic evolution

From the start the adjective described both a harsh taste and what is painful or cruel, such as war or death, and also a wicked person, a sense that has gone out of use.^[6] The senses of a sad or grieving feeling and of hurtful words have stayed in use, the latter applied in the 20th century to a person full of reproach.^[6]

It was used as a noun from 1206;^[6] l'amer meant rancour and later grief, senses that disappeared after the 16th century.^[6] Old French also called an animal's gall l'amer, a sense the Académie still recorded in 1694.^[7][9] In the 17th century un amer became a bitter tonic medicine (Mme de Sévigné), and in 1866 a bitter alcoholic drink, which now competes with the English loan bitter.^[6]

The comparisons amer comme suie (1694) and amer comme chicotin (1721) are recorded, the first now out of use.^[6]

Timeline

• c. 1150 – Chrétien de Troyes calls a war amere.^[2]
• 1174 – Benoît uses it of a bitter taste.^[2]
• 1206 – First used as a noun.^[6]
• 1694 – The Académie records amer comme suie and the sense “gall”.^[9][6]
• 1721 – Amer comme chicotin is recorded.^[6]
• 1866 – Amer names a bitter alcoholic drink.^[6]

Meanings

Adjective

1. bitter in taste, as in une endive amère, and poetically l'onde amère, the sea.^[10][2]
2. Painful, causing grief or resentment: un souvenir amer.^[10][11]
3. Expressing bitterness, harsh or wounding: des reproches amers.^[10][12]

Noun

1. A bitter tonic, or a bitter aperitif made from herbs and orange peel.^[10][13]
2. (dated) The gall of certain animals.^[10][9]

Word family

• amèrement
• doux-amer

amer² seamark

Pronunciation

• /a.mɛʁ/^[1]

Forms

amer m (plural amers)^[10]

Etymology

The word for a navigation landmark has a separate source, unrelated to the adjective: it is borrowed from Norman merc (“boundary mark”), recorded in Normandy from 1119, which is from Old Norse merki (“mark, sign”).^[6][4][14] Rey thinks that the Norman word was first taken over as a legal term, and that it is a late trace of Scandinavian speech in Normandy.^[6] The Old Norse word is related to Dutch merk and to French marque.^[6][10]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded in 1683, meaning a fixed object on the coast used as a landmark for navigation.^[4][6]

Semantic evolution

It is used mostly in the plural; a variant amet (1783) was dropped.^[6] Saint-John Perse took the word up in poetry, where its likeness to the adjective gives it an emotional colour.^[6] Wiktionnaire also gives a modern use in robotics, for a reference point by which a mobile robot finds its way.^[15]

Timeline

• 1119 – The Norman merc “boundary mark” is recorded.^[6]
• 1683 – Amer appears as a navigation term.^[4][6]
• 1783 – The variant amet is recorded.^[6]

Meanings

Noun

1. (nautical) A fixed, visible object on the coast or at sea used as a landmark for navigation; a seamark.^[10][13][15]