Etymologically
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automobile

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /o.tɔ.mɔ.bil/[1]
  • IPA: /ɔ.tɔ.mɔ.bil/[1]

Forms

automobile (plural automobiles)[1]

Etymology

It is a compound of auto- (“self”) and mobile (“moving”) (from Latin mōbilis), formed on the model of locomobile, beside the older automoteur.[2][3][4][1][5] Littré calls it a hybrid word, from Greek Ancient Greek αὐτός (autós, “self”) and “mobile”.[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record (1861, Annales des ponts et chaussées) is an adjective for river gates that move by themselves under the weight of the water[7][2][6]; Pierre Larousse's dictionary (1866) and Littré still give only this sense of “self-moving”.[7][2][6]

Semantic evolution

With engines fitted to road vehicles, voiture automobile (1876) launched the word, and the adjective was soon used of the new industry and sport (1895, industrie automobile).[2] As a noun, une automobile dates from about 1890–1896; it was sometimes masculine until about 1920.[7][8][2] The clipped un auto (1896), then une auto, became usual around 1900, and automobile itself became a technical or formal word beside auto and voiture.[2] The adjective hippomobile (1897) was formed after it.[2]

Timeline

  • 1861 – Adjective, “moving by itself”, of river gates.[7][3]
  • 1866 – Recorded in Larousse's dictionary.[2][4]
  • 1876 – Voiture automobile.[2]
  • c. 1890–1896 – Une automobile, a motor car.[7][8]
  • 1896 – Un auto.[2]
  • 1897 – Hippomobile.[2]
  • c. 1920 – Un automobile goes out of use.[2][8]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (formal, technical) A motor car, an automobile.[8][1]
  2. The motor industry or motor sport.[4]

Adjective

  1. Self-propelled: canot automobile, a motorboat.[8][9]
  2. Of cars and motoring: l'industrie automobile, coureur automobile.[9][8]

Word family

  • auto

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 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 Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 6/3, 4a
  6. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  7. ^ a b c d e Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
  8. ^ a b c d e f Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  9. ^ a b Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)