appliquer

Pronunciation

• IPA: /a.pli.ke/^[1]

Forms

appliquer^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin applicō (“to bring into contact; to apply (one's mind)”),^[2][3][1][4] from ad- and plicō (“to fold”).^[2][5] The Latin verb had given the inherited Old French aploier (12th century) and Middle French “applier” (1357), both lost.^[2][1] Bloch and Wartburg note that the sense development is French, the noun following the verb.^[3]

Cognate with Old Occitan aplicar, Spanish aplicar and Italian applicare.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded as apliquier in 1280, in the sense “to put into effect”, and in medicine for applying a remedy in 1314.^[2][6]

Semantic evolution

In 1303 it meant “to apply (a name, a saying) to someone”, and Oresme and Bersuire used it of applying a definition or one's customs to laws.^[2][5] The reflexive s'appliquer “to apply oneself” is attested in 1403, and appliquer son esprit à in 1375.^[2] The concrete “to place against, put on” (appliquer un cataplasme, appliquer des échelles) remains very much alive, as does appliquer une gifle (Molière, 1670).^[2][7][6] In law appliquer une peine dates from 1791.^[2]

Under English influence, appliquer means “to apply for (a post)” in Canada and Mauritius.^[2] The derivative application (1314) has recently also named a computer program, appli.^[2]

Timeline

• 1280 – Apliquier “to put into effect”.^[2]
• 1303 – “To apply (a word) to someone”.^[2]
• 1314 – A medical term; the noun application.^[6][2]
• 1403 – S'appliquer.^[2]
• 1670 – Appliquer un soufflet in Molière.^[7]
• 1791 – Appliquer une peine.^[2]

Meanings

Verb

1. To apply, put on: appliquer une couche de peinture, appliquer son oreille contre la porte.^[8][9]
2. (familiar) To deal (a blow): appliquer une gifle.^[8][10]
3. To use, employ for a purpose: appliquer un traitement.^[8][10]
4. To put into practice, enforce: appliquer une loi.^[10][2]
5. (reflexive) S'appliquer: to apply oneself, take pains, s'appliquer à: to apply to, concern.^[1][8]
6. (Canada) To apply (for a job).^[2]

Word family

• applicable
• inapplicable
• applique
• inapplication
• application
• appliqué

Related words

• plier
• impliquer
• expliquer
• English apply

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
4. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 25, 38a
5. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
6. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ a b Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
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. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse