antiquaire

Forms

antiquaire m or f by sense (plural antiquaires)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin antīquārius (“relating to antiquity, a lover of antiquity; copyist, scribe”), derived from antīquus (“ancient”), the source of antique.^[2][3][4][5] The sense “copyist” was borrowed first, at the end of the 12th century, and did not last.^[3][4][2] The word came back in the Renaissance as an adjective meaning “ancient” (1552) and as a noun for a student of antiquity (1568).^[4][2]

The modern sense “antique dealer” came from German Antiquarius (1727), later Antiquar.^[4][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first records, from the end of the 12th century, use it for a copyist or scribe, as in Latin.^[3][4] It was later kept only as a historian's term for Greek and Roman annotators (1721).^[4]

Semantic evolution

From 1568 an antiquaire was a scholar of the monuments, inscriptions and objects of antiquity, where today one says archéologue; this sense lived into the first half of the 19th century, as in the learned sociétés d'antiquaires.^[2][4][7] The Académie noted in 1835 that archéologue was usually put in its place.^[7] A traveller's dictionary of 1800 defined the word as a lover of antiquities, the sense of a collector.^[7]

The sense of a dealer in old furniture and works of art, taken from German, is dated 1823 by the Petit Robert and 1845 by the BHVF.^[6][8] The TLFi's first quotation for it is from Maupassant, 1890.^[7][8]

Timeline

• late 12th century – First found in the sense “copyist”.^[3][4]
• 1552 – Used as an adjective, “ancient”.^[4]
• 1568 – The noun names a scholar of antiquity.^[2][4]
• 1721 – Historians use it for ancient annotators.^[4]
• 1800 – A dictionary defines it as a lover of antiquities.^[7]
• 1823 – The sense “antique dealer” appears.^[6]
• 1835 – The Académie notes that archéologue is replacing it.^[7]

Meanings

Noun

1. A dealer in old furniture, works of art and decorative objects; an antique dealer: elle a acheté cette commode chez un antiquaire.^[6][9][7]
2. (dated) A person who studies antiquity, its monuments and inscriptions; an archaeologist.^[6][7][9]
3. (dated) A collector of antiquities.^[7]
4. (palaeography) A copyist who wrote in ancient capital letters.^[10]

Related words

• antique
• antiquité
• Latin antīquus

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 d Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique 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, 660a
6. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ 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
8. ^ a b Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
9. ^ a b Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
10. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette