anarchisme

Forms

anarchisme m (plural anarchismes)^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from French anarchie + -isme.^[2][1] The Robert dictionaries and the GLLF derive it instead from anarchiste.^[3][4][5] Rey treats it as one of the words that grew out of that noun and took on new connotations at the end of the 19th century.^[6] The noun in turn is from Ancient Greek ἀναρχία (anarkhía).^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Boiste's dictionary has it in 1834, for the political doctrine of the anarchists.^[7][6][3] The TLFi's first record is Landais (1840), who defines it as the system and opinions of anarchists.^[2]

Semantic evolution

The word first named the doctrine that rejects the authority of the State and would remove from society every power able to constrain the individual.^[2][4] In 1892 the Goncourts' Journal mocks well-off writers who were supporters of anarchism and of an egalitarian order.^[2]

Like anarchiste, it widened (1917) to mean a refusal of authority in general,^[6] a tendency to reject all discipline and rules, which the TLFi illustrates from Barrès's notebooks of 1917–1918.^[2] The same period gave anar (1901), anarchisant (1925) and compounds in anarcho- such as anarchosyndicalisme (about 1900).^[6]

Timeline

• 1834 – Boiste records anarchisme.^[7][6][3]
• 1840 – Landais defines it as the system and opinions of anarchists.^[2]
• 1892 – The Goncourts use it in their Journal.^[2]
• About 1900 – Anarchosyndicalisme appears.^[6]
• 1917 – The wider sense of refusing all authority is recorded.^[6]

Meanings

Noun

1. anarchism, the political doctrine that seeks to abolish the State and all coercive power over the individual.^[4][2][8]
2. (by extension) A refusal of all authority, discipline or rules.^[2][4][5]

Related words

• anarchie
• anarchiste
• anar

References

1. ^ a b c d e 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
6. ^ a b c d e f g Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ a b Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
8. ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)