apocalyptique

Forms

apocalyptique (plural apocalyptiques)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek ἀποκαλυπτικός (apokaluptikós, “revealing”),^[2][3][1][4] a derivative of ἀποκάλυψις (apokálupsis, “revelation”), the source of apocalypse.^[3][2] Littré treats it simply as a derivative of the French noun.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded in 1532, describing the sacred text of the Apocalypse.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

Used in the 16th century and again from the 18th, the adjective first qualified the Book of Revelation, then a symbolic, visionary style that could also be obscure and muddled;^[2] Littré still defines it as “hard to understand”.^[5]

In the 19th century (Quinet, 1836) it took its modern value of “of the end of the world, cataclysmic”,^[2] now applied to anything at once grand and terrifying.^[6][7]

Timeline

• 1532 – First record of the adjective.^[2][3]
• 1552 – Rabelais uses it.^[6][7]
• 18th century – The word comes back into use after a gap.^[3][7][2]
• 1770 – The adverb apocalyptiquement appears in Grimm's correspondence.^[2]
• 1836 – Quinet uses it in the sense “cataclysmic”.^[2]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Relating to the Apocalypse of Saint John, or to apocalypses as a genre: littérature apocalyptique.^[7][8][4]
2. Of a style: obscure and symbolic, like the visions of the Apocalypse: style apocalyptique.^[7][5][6]
3. Suggesting the end of the world, catastrophic, terrifying: un paysage apocalyptique.^[7][4][6]

Word family

• apocalyptiquement

Related words

• apocalypse

Usage notes

Animaux apocalyptiques are the symbolic beasts of the Book of Revelation, such as the beast with seven heads and ten horns and the horses of the four horsemen.^[8]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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 c Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
5. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
6. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
7. ^ a b c d e f Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ 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