Etymologically
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arrêt

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /a.ʁɛ/[1]

Forms

arrêt m (plural arrêts)[1] Old French arest (1175).[2][3]

Etymology

It is a deverbal noun from arrêter,[3][2][1][4] which continues Vulgar Latin *arrestō, formed with ad- and Latin restō (“to stay, stand still”), the source of rester.[4][5] Littré rejects a derivation from Ancient Greek ἀρεστόν (arestón, “resolution”), since the noun cannot be separated from the verb.[6]

Compare Old Occitan arrest, Spanish arresto and Italian arresto.[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Chrétien de Troyes uses arest in 1175;[2][3] in the Roman de la Rose sans arrest means “without delay”.[6][4]

Semantic evolution

Its old senses “delay” (12th to early 18th century) and “hindrance” (13th century) have died out, while “suspension of an action” (13th–16th centuries) revived in the 19th, and sans arrêt took the sense “constantly” (1939).[4] By metonymy it named a halt or rest (1530), and of a dog that freezes at the scent of game de arrêt (1690), hence chien d'arrêt (1794) and être en arrêt “to be on the alert” (1919).[4] It also became the place where a bus or coach stops; in Quebec arrêt replaces stop for the road sign.[4]

From “to fix” came devices that hold something still: in harness (1392), in sewing (1393), the safety catch of a firearm (1690) and the cran d'arrêt of a folding knife.[4] From arrêter “to seize” it meant a seizure (13th century) and an arrest (late 14th century), now only in mandat d'arrêt and the military arrêts (about 1700).[4] From the idea of decision (about 1350) comes the legal sense, the judgment of a sovereign court (14th century), and figuratively les arrêts du destin (early 17th century).[4]

Timeline

  • 1175 – Arest in Chrétien de Troyes.[2]
  • c. 1350 – “Decision”.[4]
  • 14th century – The judgment of a sovereign court.[4]
  • 1530 – A halt.[4]
  • 1690 – Of a pointing dog; the safety catch of a gun.[4]
  • c. 1700 – Military arrêts.[4]
  • 1794 – Chien d'arrêt.[4]
  • 1890 – Arrêt buffet.[4]
  • 1939 – Sans arrêt “constantly”.[4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A Stop, halt, stopping: l'arrêt d'un train, cinq minutes d'arrêt, à l'arrêt, stationary.[7][1]
  2. A stop where buses or trams pick up passengers: arrêt d'autobus.[4][1]
  3. An interruption: arrêt de travail, a stoppage, also sick leave, arrêt cardiaque, cardiac arrest, sans arrêt, constantly.[1][4]
  4. (law) A judgment, ruling of a high court, arrêt de mort, a death sentence.[1][4]
  5. Mandat d'arrêt: an arrest warrant, (military) arrêts (plural), confinement to quarters: mettre aux arrêts.[1][4]
  6. (hunting) The pointing of a dog: chien d'arrêt, a pointer, tomber en arrêt.[2][4]
  7. A stop, catch on a mechanism, cran d'arrêt, a flick knife.[4][1]
  8. (football, hockey) A save.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  3. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  6. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  7. ^ Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert