Etymologically
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appeler

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /a.p(ə).le/[1]

Forms

appeler[1] Old French apeler.[2][3]

Etymology

It is an early borrowing, borrowed from Latin appellō (“to address, call upon; to name; to appeal”).[4][1][5][6] The Latin verb was formed with ad- from a verb “*pellāre”, a variant of pellō (“to push, drive”), so that it first meant “to go up to someone to speak to them”; compare interpeller.[4][7] Littré took the unattested “pellāre” to mean “to speak”.[8] In Latin it also meant “to name” and, in law, “to appeal”.[4][7]

Cognate with Italian appellare, Old Occitan apelar and Spanish apelar.[9][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in the Chanson de Roland (1080) in the sense “to call someone (to come)”: Dist Blancandrins : apelez le franceis “Blancandrin said: call the Frenchman”.[5][8]

Semantic evolution

The first sense was “to address someone, by a cry or by words”, then “to call by name” (13th century).[4] In the 12th century it meant “to invoke (God, the saints)” and “to call someone to come” (about 1160), as one calls a doctor; one also calls with a gesture or the eyes (1528) and today by telephone.[4] Appeler au secours dates from 1690, after à son secours (1538).[4]

From “to call by name” came “to name” (12th century), and s'appeler “to be called” (14th century); cela s'appelle…, “that is what one calls…”, dates from the 16th century.[4] Legal and military senses followed: “to summon before a judge” (14th century), en appeler “to appeal to a higher court” (1270), appeler sous les drapeaux (1835).[4] The feudal sense “to challenge” (12th century) has disappeared.[4] The derivative appel passed into English as appeal in the 13th century.[7]

Timeline

  • 1080 – Apeler in the Chanson de Roland.[5][2]
  • c. 1160 – “To call (someone) to come”.[4]
  • 1270 – En appeler “to appeal to a higher court”.[4]
  • 14th century – S'appeler “to be called”.[4]
  • 1528 – To call by a gesture or with the eyes.[4]
  • 1678 – Appeler les choses par leur nom in La Fontaine.[4]
  • 1690 – Appeler au secours.[4]
  • 1835 – Appeler sous les drapeaux.[4]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To call, call out to someone to come or to attract their attention: appeler son chien, appeler au secours.[7][2]
  2. To call, phone: Je vous appellerai demain.[7][1]
  3. To send for, summon: appeler le médecin.[4][1]
  4. To name, call: On l'appelle Jean, appeler les choses par leur nom.[4][8]
  5. S'appeler: to be called: Je m'appelle Marie.[1][4]
  6. To call up for military service.[4]
  7. To call for, require: Son attitude appelle une réponse.[4]
  8. En appeler à: to appeal to.[10][4]

Word family

  • appelable
  • appel
  • appeau
  • appeleur
  • rappeler

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  3. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 25, 28a
  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 c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  9. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  10. ^ Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)