Etymologically
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arrivée

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /a.ʁi.ve/[1]

Forms

arrivée f (plural arrivées)[1]

Etymology

It is the feminine past participle of arriver used as a noun.[2][3][4][5] The verb, like démarrer, is a sailors' word whose sense widened: it continues Vulgar Latin *arrīpāre (“to come to shore”), from ad- and rīpa (“bank, shore”) (see rive).[2][4]

Compare Old Occitan arribada and Spanish arribada.[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Rey dates it to 1527, in the general sense “act of arriving, by whatever means”.[2][3][4]

Semantic evolution

It is used of the arrival of ships (1596), and of the moment when a person arrives or appears (1680).[2] Classical writers had d'arrivée “straight away, on arrival”, as in Montaigne and Amyot, an expression already old-fashioned in the 17th century.[6][7] By metonymy it named the place where travellers or runners arrive, with a special sporting sense (the finish, 1860) and ligne d'arrivée (1903); in technical use it is the pipe through which a fluid arrives (arrivée d'air, d'essence).[2][5] In African French bonne arrivée ! means “welcome!”.[2]

Timeline

  • 1527 – First record.[2][3]
  • 1596 – Arrival of ships.[2]
  • 1680 – The moment someone arrives.[2]
  • 1860 – The finish of a race.[2]
  • 1903 – Ligne d'arrivée.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. arrival, the act or moment of arriving: l'arrivée du train, dès mon arrivée.[5][1]
  2. The place of arrival; the finish of a race: ligne d'arrivée, gare d'arrivée.[5][2]
  3. An inlet, supply (of a fluid): arrivée d'air, tuyau d'arrivée.[5]
  4. (figurative) The coming, beginning: l'arrivée du printemps.[5]
  5. (African French) Bonne arrivée !: welcome![2]

References

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