antan

Forms

antan m (plural antans)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *anteannum (“last year”),^[2][3][4][5] formed from Latin ante (“before”) and annus (“year”).^[6][7][8]

Cognate with Occitan antan and Spanish antaño.^[7][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Rey dates the word to 1050, in the strict sense “last year”.^[6] The Anglo-Norman Dictionary records it from 1160–1174, meaning “last year” and “formerly”.^[9]

Semantic evolution

The wider sense “formerly” is very old.^[6] The phrases dès antan “for a long time” (13th century), now gone, and above all d'antan (12th century) outlived the use as an adverb, which died out early in the 17th century.^[6] Froissart still uses it for “last year” in the 14th century.^[7]

The modern literary uses are confined to d'antan, mostly as an allusion to the refrain of Villon's Ballade des dames du temps jadis, Mais où sont les neiges d'antan ? “But where are the snows of last year?”.^[6][2][10] Hugo claimed in Les Misérables (1862) that it was a word of the old thieves' cant.^[10]

Timeline

• 1050 – First record, meaning “last year”.^[6]
• Early 12th century – First used as an adjective.^[3]
• 12th century – The phrase d'antan appears.^[6]
• c. 1160 – First record as an adverbial phrase.^[3]
• 13th century – Dès antan “for a long time”.^[6]
• 15th century – Villon's refrain Mais où sont les neiges d'antan ?.^[7][2]
• Early 17th century – The adverb goes out of use.^[6]
• 1823 – Boiste records the falconry adjective antannier.^[10]

Meanings

Noun

1. (archaic, literary) The year before this one, last year, mainly in les neiges d'antan.^[10][11]
2. D'antan (literary): of former times, of yore.^[4][11][10]

Related words

• an
• Latin annus

Usage notes

Antan is now used almost only in d'antan, after Villon's line.^[2][4] In falconry antannier was said of a bird that still had the plumage of the year before.^[10] The older adjective antenois “more than a year old”, used of animals, is perhaps influenced in its form by antan.^[10]

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
3. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 24, 641b
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ a b c d Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ Picoche, Jacqueline (1991), Dictionnaire étymologique du français, Paris: Le Robert (Les Usuels du Robert)
9. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
10. ^ 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
11. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse