apprivoiser

Forms

apprivoiser^[1] Old French apriveiser (late 12th century) and aprivoisier (13th century); the spelling with pp dates from the 16th century.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French apriveiser, inherited from Vulgar Latin *apprivatiare, from ad- and prīvātus (“personal, domestic”) (the source of privé).^[2][4][1][5] Old Occitan aprivadar points to an older *aprivatare.^[2][4] The Grand Robert gives the Vulgar Latin form as *apprivitiare or as the form above, and Picoche as *apprīvītāre (“to make private, personal”).^[6][7]

Old French also had apriver and aprivoyer, from the same adjective in the sense “tame”, which also gave the verb priver the sense “to tame” until the 17th century.^[2][8] Littré derived the verb from an unattested adjective based on Latin prīvus, and cites a similar verb from the Berry dialect.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its first form, apriveiser, is recorded at the end of the 12th century.^[2][6] A 13th-century line of the Roman de Renart contrasts the beasts that ran wild with those that grew tame: Et les Adam aprivoisoient.^[3]

Semantic evolution

The verb lost its original sense “to make private, appropriate” and settled on “to make (a person or an animal) familiar” (about 1225); the reflexive in this sense is found from the 13th century.^[2] Of people, “to make docile, gentle” seems later (1677).^[2]

“To domesticate (an animal)” (1538) has remained the commonest sense.^[2] Figurative uses such as s'apprivoiser à quelque chose “to get used to it” (Montaigne) and apprivoiser quelqu'un à quelque chose (1701) are now archaic;^[2] s'apprivoiser avec le danger dates from 1701.^[2]

Timeline

• Late 12th century – Apriveiser is first recorded.^[2][6]
• c. 1225 – It means “to make familiar”.^[2]
• 1538 – The sense “to domesticate an animal” is recorded.^[2]
• 1555 – The modern spelling apprivoiser appears.^[6]
• 1556 – Apprivoiseur is recorded, and apprivoisement in 1558.^[2]
• 1677 – Of a person, it means “to make docile”.^[2]
• 1784 – Apprivoisable is first found.^[2]

Meanings

Verb

1. To tame: to make (a wild animal) less fearful or less dangerous, used to people.^[9][10][11]
2. (figurative, literary) To make (a person) more docile or sociable, to win over.^[9][11][1]
3. (reflexive) S'apprivoiser: to become tame or less shy.^[3][12]
4. (reflexive) S'apprivoiser avec: to grow used to: s'apprivoiser avec le danger.^[3][2]

Word family

• apprivoisable
• apprivoiseur
• apprivoisement
• inapprivoisable

Related words

• privé
• priver
• privauté
• Latin prīvātus

Usage notes

The past participle apprivoisé is the opposite of sauvage and, of animals, is distinct from domestique, which describes a settled state.^[2] A comedy by Shakespeare is known in French as La Mégère apprivoisée.^[9]

References

1. ^ a b c d 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 r Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ a b c d e Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
4. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 25, 51b
6. ^ a b c d Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ Picoche, Jacqueline (1991), Dictionnaire étymologique du français, Paris: Le Robert (Les Usuels du Robert)
8. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
9. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
10. ^ Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
11. ^ a b Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
12. ^ 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