assesseur

Forms

assesseur m (plural assesseurs, feminine assesseuse)^[1] Old French assisseur (1236), assessour, accessor and acesseur (1283).^[2][3]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin assessor (“one who sits beside, helper, adviser”),^{[2][4][3][1][5]} which is derived from assideō (“to sit beside”).^[2][4][6] Rey describes the Latin word as Late Latin.^[2] The Latin verb is also the source of asseoir.^[4][2]

Cognate with Old Occitan assessor, Spanish asesor and Italian assessore.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is found from the 13th century, first as assisseur in 1236.^[2] A 13th-century fabliau quoted by Littré uses assessour of those who sat beside the god of love, and Beaumanoir uses acesseurs for officers whom a bailiff or provost could appoint to help him.^[7]

Semantic evolution

The word has always been an institutional term.^[2] In law it named an officer who assists a judge, and Littré defines it as a magistrate attached to a principal judge to help and replace him.^[2][7] In the Church it came to name a prelate serving as secretary of certain congregations, a sense recorded in the 20th century.^[2] Rey notes that specialised uses multiplied in the 19th and 20th centuries,^[2] among them the touch judge who assists the referee in sport.^[8]

Timeline

• 1236 – First record, as assisseur.^[2]
• 1283 – The form acesseur is recorded.^[3][2]
• 14th century – Accesseurs are listed among town officers.^[7]
• 1606 – The Latin-based derivative assessoriat (now assessorat) appears.^[2]
• 20th century – It names a prelate who is secretary of a Roman congregation.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A person who sits beside another to assist them in their duties and to stand in for them when needed, as at a polling station (bureau de vote).^[9][8][6]
2. (law) A juge sitting beside the presiding judge of a court of several judges, with a vote in its decisions, as in Les deux assesseurs ont délibéré avec le président.^[8][6]
3. (sport) A touch judge who assists the arbitre during a match.^[8]

Related words

• asseoir
• assessorat
• Latin assessor

Usage notes

The word is used of women as une assesseur; the feminines assesseuse and assesseure (the latter on the Quebec model) are also found.^[8][1]

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 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. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 25, 530a
6. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
7. ^ a b c d Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ 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