annonceur

Forms

annonceur m (plural annonceurs, feminine annonceuse)^[1] Old French annoncieres (about 1190).^[2]

Etymology

It is formed from French annoncer + -eur.^{[1][3][4][5][6]} The verb annoncer continues Latin annūntiō (“to announce”), from nūntius (“message, messenger”).^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded about 1190, in the form annoncieres.^[2][5][3]

Semantic evolution

After its first record the word was rare; in 1439 it meant a street crier, and it reappeared in 1611 and in 1690 as “herald”.^[2][3] At the end of the 17th century it was taken up in the theatre for the actor who, at the end of a performance, announced the next day's play, the only sense the Académie recorded until 1932.^[2][7] In the 16th century Marot calls Mercury le celeste annonceur.^[6]

The modern senses are tied to advertising: the person who writes the advertisements of a newspaper (1853), then, from 1900, the presenter of a silent film.^[2] In the 20th century, first in Canada (1930) and in France in 1939, it came to mean the person or company who pays for advertisements.^[2] About 1970 it was proposed in France to replace speaker; in Quebec it is used for a radio or television announcer.^[2][8]

Timeline

• c. 1190 – Annoncieres is first recorded.^[2][3]
• 1439 – Used for a street crier.^[2]
• 1690 – Used in the sense “herald”.^[2][3]
• late 17th century – Used for the actor who announces the next play.^[2]
• 1853 – Used for the writer of newspaper advertisements.^[2]
• 1930 – In Canada, a person or company paying for advertisements.^[2]
• 1939 – This sense is recorded in France.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. An advertiser, a person or company that pays for an advertisement in a newspaper or for a commercial in the media.^[8][9][10]
2. (Quebec) A radio or television announcer or presenter.^[8][2][1]
3. (obsolete) An actor who announced the next performance at the end of a play.^[8][7][4]

Related words

• annoncer
• annonce
• annonciateur
• annoncier

References

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