analyser

Forms

analyser^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from French analyse + -er.^[2][3][1] The noun analyse is from Ancient Greek ἀνάλυσις (análusis), a philosophical term, from ἀναλύω (analúō, “to resolve”).^[4] The TLFi and the Grand Robert date the verb to 1698;^[2][3] the DHLF finds it in chemistry in 1679, apparently before the noun was used in that field.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

In Tournefort's Histoire des plantes (1698) it means “to decompose” a substance into its constituents: Les fleurs de cette plante analysées donnent plusieurs liqueurs acides “The flowers of this plant, analysed, yield several acid liquors”.^[2]

Semantic evolution

Starting in chemistry, the verb became common in the 18th century in abstract use, “to examine in order to understand” (1725),^[2][5] notably in psychology, with Condillac (1746); the reflexive s'analyser “to examine oneself” followed in 1801.^[5] It is also used for the grammatical analysis of words and sentences,^[6][7] and since 1912 in the sense “to psychoanalyse”.^[8]

Timeline

• 1698 – Tournefort uses it of decomposing plant matter.^[2]
• 1725 – First record in the sense “to examine in order to understand”.^[2]
• 1746 – Condillac uses it in psychology.^[5]
• 1801 – The reflexive s'analyser is recorded.^[5]
• 1912 – It is used in the sense “to psychoanalyse”.^[8]

Meanings

Verb

1. To analyse: to break a whole down into its parts in order to understand or explain it: analyser ses motifs.^[8][7][2]
2. To study closely, or to sum up the essential points of a text or work.^[7][8]
3. (chemistry) To determine the constituents of a substance.^[8][9]
4. (grammar) To parse the words of a clause or the clauses of a sentence.^[7][6][1]
5. (psychoanalysis) To psychoanalyse: se faire analyser.^[8]
6. S'analyser: to examine one's own feelings and motives.^[8][5]

Word family

• analysable
• analyseur
• inanalysable

Related words

• analyse
• analyste
• analytique
• psychanalyser

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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
3. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
5. ^ a b c d e f Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
7. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
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. ^ Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)