Etymologically
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argent

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /aʁ.ʒɑ̃/[1]

Forms

argent m (plural argents)[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French argent, inherited from Latin argentum (“silver; money”).[2][3][4][5][1] The Latin word is related to a stem meaning “brightness, whiteness” seen in arguō, originally “to make bright”, then “to show, prove”: silver is “the shining one”.[2][6] The same name is found in Ancient Greek ἄργυρος (árguros), Celtic (Gaulish “arganto-”) and Oscan, Ernout and Meillet thought it a borrowed word replacing an Indo-European name.[2][7]

Cognate with Romanian argint, Italian argento, Occitan argent and Catalan argent.[6][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in 881 in the Séquence de sainte Eulalie: Ne por or, ned argent, ne paramenz “neither for gold nor silver nor finery”.[2][7][3]

Semantic evolution

By 1080 it meant silver coin, and, from the 12th century any metal coin, Latin argentum already meant money in Plautus.[2][4] Bloch and Wartburg note that this sense survives in Romance only in France.[4] Rey explains that argent rather than or became the word for money because silver coinage was the most common.[2]

Phrases followed: faire argent de tout (1561), prendre pour argent comptant (1587), être cousu d'argent (1675), en avoir pour son argent (1811).[2] Point d'argent, point de Suisse is recorded in 1640, l'argent n'a pas d'odeur in 1811.[9] In heraldry argent is the tincture white (12th century), and the adjective argent “silvery” dates from 1751.[2][9] Few French words have as many slang synonyms.[2]

Timeline

  • 881 – Argent in the Séquence de sainte Eulalie.[2]
  • c. 1100 – Silver coin, in the Chanson de Roland.[2][7]
  • 12th century – The heraldic tincture.[2]
  • 13th century – Vif-argent, quicksilver.[4]
  • 1286 – Argenterie.[4]
  • 1587 – Prendre pour argent comptant.[2]
  • 1640 – Point d'argent, point de Suisse.[9]
  • 1811 – L'argent n'a pas d'odeur.[9]

Meanings

Noun

  1. silver, the precious metal (Ag): une bague en argent.[6][10]
  2. money: coins and notes; wealth: gagner de l'argent, argent de poche.[10][1]
  3. (heraldry) argent, the colour white or silver.[1][2]

Adjective

  1. Silvery in colour: gris argent.[9][11]

Word family

  • argenter
  • désargenter
  • argenterie
  • argentin
  • argentifère
  • vif-argent
  • argenté
  • argentier
  • Argentine
  • Latin argentum

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 Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  3. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c d e Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 25, 192a
  6. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  7. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  8. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  9. ^ a b c d e Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
  10. ^ a b Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
  11. ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)