Etymologically
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arranger

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /a.ʁɑ̃.ʒe/[1]
  • IPA (Louisiana): [a.ɾɑ̃.ʒe][1]

Forms

arranger[1] Old French arengier (about 1160); arranger from the 14th century.[2][3]

Etymology

It is from French a- + ranger (“to put in rows, arrange”), from rang.[2][3][4][5][6][1] “Rang” (Old French “renc”) is borrowed from Frankish *hring (“circle, ring”) (compare German Ring), which Bloch and Wartburg think came in with the sense “assembly”, judicial or military, after the custom of the ancient Germans, whence “order, row of the people at an assembly”.[5]

Compare Old Occitan arengar.[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its first sense, about 1160, is to put in rank, at first of soldiers drawn up in their ranks: François s'arengent “the French draw up in line” (Bataille d'Aliscans).[2][7] S'arranger (about 1200) meant “to take one's place”, and, from 1694 “to settle in”.[2]

Semantic evolution

Littré noted that arranger adds to ranger the idea of fixing the order itself in which things are put; from 1538 it meant to put in the proper order, and so moved away from the simple verb.[2] Special uses followed: to dress and adorn (La Bruyère, 1696), to arrange a piece of music (mid-19th century), to repair (1863) and, in cooking, to prepare (1866).[2]

With a person as object it meant “to ill-treat” as early as 1492 (arengier), and in slang “to swindle” (1896).[2] Arranger people meant to reconcile them (1665), arranger une affaire to settle it amicably (1798), and arranger qqn to suit someone; in African French it means to help, to do someone a favour.[2]

Timeline

  • c. 1160 – Arengier, to draw up in ranks.[2]
  • c. 1200 – S'arranger, to take one's place.[2]
  • 1538 – To put in the proper order.[2]
  • 1665 – To reconcile.[2]
  • 1798 – Arranger une affaire.[2]
  • mid-19th century – To arrange music.[2]
  • 1863 – To repair.[2]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To arrange, put in order: arranger des fleurs dans un vase, arranger sa coiffure.[4][8]
  2. To fit out or adapt for a purpose: arranger une chambre pour un invité, (music) to arrange a piece for other instruments.[4][8]
  3. To organize, set up: arranger un rendez-vous.[4]
  4. To settle, sort out: arranger une affaire; to repair, fix.[2][4]
  5. (familiar) To suit, be convenient for: ça m'arrange.[1][2]
  6. (familiar) To beat up, ill-treat: il s'est fait arranger.[2]
  7. S'arranger: to come to an agreement; to manage; to get better: tout va s'arranger.[1][4]

Word family

  • arrangement
  • arrangeur
  • arrangeant
  • arrangeable

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c d e f Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 16, 244b
  7. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  8. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse