autrui

Forms

autrui (invariable pronoun)^[2] Old French altrui, altroi;^[3][4] Anglo-Norman also autri and autruy.^[3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French altrui, the oblique case of autre, inherited from Vulgar Latin *alterui, a popular dative singular of alter (“the other”) that replaced alterī after the model of cui (“to whom”).^[5][1][6] Bloch and Wartburg describe it instead as formed on the pattern of lui.^[7][2]

Cognate with Italian altrui and Old Occitan autrui.^[7][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found as altrui in the Chanson de Roland (1080), already in its modern sense “someone else, other people”.^[5][2] Littré quotes the line Ne fait damage ne de mei ne d'altrui (“he does no harm to me or to anyone else”).^[4]

Semantic evolution

The pronoun has had its modern meaning from the beginning.^[5] In Old French it was the oblique case of autre, which is why it is still used mostly as a complement, after a preposition.^[4][2] Preceded by the article, l'autrui also meant “one's neighbour's property” from 1262 until the early 17th century, an expression of the old chancery in which bien or droit was understood.^[5][4]

In modern French it belongs chiefly to literary, religious and moralizing language, as in the proverb Ne fais pas à autrui ce que tu ne voudrais pas qu'on te fît.^[2][8][1] The derivative altruisme, coined in 1830 by Auguste Comte or by Andrieux, was formed after Latin alter.^[7]

Timeline

• 1080 – Altrui appears in the Chanson de Roland.^[5][2]
• c. 1135 – First Anglo-Norman record.^[3]
• 1262 – L'autrui is first found in the sense “the property of others”.^[5]
• 1262 – The spelling autrui is recorded.^[9]
• Early 17th century – L'autrui “others' property” goes out of use.^[5][4]
• 1830 – The derivative altruisme is coined.^[7]

Meanings

Pronoun

1. Other people, someone other than oneself, one's neighbour in the moral sense; used mostly as a complement: travailler pour autrui.^[8][6][10]
2. (literary) As a subject, others in general.^[8]
3. (sociology) L'autrui généralisé: the generalized other.^[10]

Related words

• autre
• altruisme
• Latin alter

Usage notes

Because autrui is singular by nature, a possessive referring to it is son, sa or ses, never leur.^[6] The older compound altresi, found in the Strasbourg Oaths, was replaced by aussi.^[5]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
3. ^ a b c Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
4. ^ a b c d e f g Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
5. ^ a b c d e f g h Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ a b c Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
7. ^ a b c d Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
8. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
10. ^ a b 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