attendre

Pronunciation

• IPA: /a.tɑ̃dʁ/^[1]

Forms

attendre^[1] Old French atendre; the spelling attendre is recorded from 1552.^[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French atendre, inherited from Latin attendō (“to stretch towards; to pay attention to”), formed with ad- from tendō (“to stretch”).^[2][3][1][4] Rey treats it as a borrowing from Latin.^[5] The meanings “to wait for” and “to wait” are peculiar to French: Italian attendere, Spanish atender and Old Occitan atendre have only the Latin sense “to pay attention”.^[5][3] That sense lived on in French, especially in s'attendre“ “to apply oneself”, from the 13th to the 16th century (Montaigne), and explains the old link between ”attendre and attention.^[5][3][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in the 11th century, in the Vie de saint Alexis and in the Chanson de Roland: De Guenelon atent li reis noveles “the king waits for news of Ganelon”.^[6][7]

Semantic evolution

The modern senses “to stay until someone or something comes” and “to be patient” are present from the first texts, and may have developed in spoken Romance.^[5][3] An early extension, “to count on (an arrival, an event)”, is found about 1160, and s'attendre à “to expect” in 1601, Old French s'attendre à quelqu'un “to rely on someone” lasted until the 17th century.^[5][3] Se faire attendre is recorded in 1625.^[8]

The past participle attendu kept the Latin sense “considered” in law (1390), whence attendu que “considering that” (1379); inattendu dates from 1613 and attente from about 1050.^[5][3] The jocular il est urgent d'attendre is recorded in the 1930s.^[5] Belgian French says attendre famille for “to be expecting”, and Swiss French attendre sur (1747), a calque of German warten auf.^[5]

Timeline

• 11th century – Atendre in the Vie de saint Alexis and the Chanson de Roland.^[6][7]
• c. 1160 – “To count on, expect”.^[5]
• 1379 – Attendu que “considering that”.^[5]
• 16th century – Last uses of s'attendre “to apply oneself”, in Montaigne.^[5]
• 1601 – S'attendre à “to expect”.^[5]
• 1613 – Inattendu.^[5][3]
• 1625 – Se faire attendre in a letter of Peiresc.^[8]
• 1747 – Swiss attendre sur.^[5]

Meanings

Verb

1. To wait for, await: attendre le train, attendre quelqu'un à la gare.^[9][6]
2. Without object: to wait, be patient: Attendez un peu.^[10][5]
3. To expect, count on: attendre quelque chose de quelqu'un.^[6][1]
4. Attendre un enfant: to be pregnant.^[6]
5. S'attendre à: to expect, foresee: Je m'attendais à ce refus.^[1][5]
6. En attendant: in the meantime.^[5]

Word family

• attente
• attentisme
• attendu
• inattendu

Related words

• attention
• attentif
• tendre

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ a b c d e f g Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
4. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 25, 702a
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ a b c d e Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
7. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ a b Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
9. ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
10. ^ Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)