Etymologically
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attitude

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 17 October 2026 at 21:11. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /a.ti.tyd/[1]

Forms

attitude f (plural attitudes)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Italian attitudine (“posture; aptitude”),[2][3][4][5][6] attested in Leonardo da Vinci.[2] The Italian word is from Late Latin aptitūdō (“aptitude”) (whence aptitude), from Latin aptus (“fit”),[4][7][8] but the TLFi and the DHLF see in the painters' sense a Vulgar Latin “*actitudo”, from Latin actitō (“to do often”), frequentative of agō (“to do, act”), reshaped after “aptitudo”; another explanation is “aptitudo” reshaped after “actus” (see acte).[2][3][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Poussin, in a letter to Stella (1637), writes of certaines attitudes naturelles, qui font voir dans le peuple juif la misère et la faim: a term of painting for the position of figures.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

The word quickly passed into general use for the way one holds one's body (1670), and in dance l'attitude is a particular pose (Molière, 1670).[9][10] Bloch and Wartburg date the modern sense from 1796;[4] Napoleon's Mémoires (before 1821) use it for a stance or disposition towards someone (l'attitude d'une grande cité qui se lève contre la rébellion).[2][3] It is now usual in psychology, sociology and everyday speech for a state of mind and the behaviour that shows it.[3] In 2004 a song made fashionable the calque of English positive attitude.[3]

Timeline

  • Before 1519 – Italian attitudine in Leonardo da Vinci.[2]
  • 1637 – A term of painting, in Poussin.[2]
  • 1670 – A bodily posture; a dance pose, in Molière.[9][10]
  • 1796 – The modern sense.[4]
  • Before 1821 – “Stance, disposition”, in Napoleon's Mémoires.[2]
  • 2004 – Positive attitude.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A posture, way of holding one's body: une attitude gracieuse.[9][7]
  2. (pejorative) An affected pose: prendre des attitudes.[7]
  3. An attitude, behaviour reflecting a state of mind: une attitude ferme, changer d'attitude.[9][7]
  4. (dance) An attitude (a pose on one leg).[10][9]

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h 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
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c d Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  5. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 25, 62a
  7. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  8. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  9. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  10. ^ a b c Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF