Etymologically
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avis

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Pronunciation

Forms

avis m (invariable)[1]

Etymology

It comes from the Old French phrase ce m'est a vis“ (1135), from older ”ço m'est vis“ (”Vie de saint Alexis“) “it seems to me”, a calque of Latin ”mihi est visum“ for classical ”mihi videtur“.[2][3][4][5] ”Vis existed in Old French only in this phrase; it continues Latin vīsum (“what seems (good)”), the neuter past participle of videō (“to see”).[3][2][6] Wiktionary traces it, through Old French “vis”, to vīsus.[1]

Compare Old Occitan avis, Spanish aviso and Italian avviso.[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Wace's Vie de sainte Marguerite (1135) has Ce m'est avis que par raison... “it seems to me that rightly...”, avis as a noun, “opinion”, is found about 1138–70.[8][2][3]

Semantic evolution

From the phrase came il m'est avis (about 1175) and m'est avis (13th century), felt as popular from the 17th century, and à mon avis (about 1185).[2] Être d'avis de, que appears in the 14th century, “advice, recommendation” in 1356, and “information given” in Froissart.[2] Special uses followed: a judge's opinion (1657), avis au lecteur (1690) and avis au public (1835); lettre d'avis was a letter advising a shipment.[2] Until the 17th century avis also meant good sense, judgement (1285), whence avisé.[2] The rhetorical à ton avis ? underlining the obvious dates from the 1970s.[2]

Timeline

  • c. 1050 – Ço m'est vis, Vie de saint Alexis.[3]
  • 1135 – Ce m'est avis, Wace.[8]
  • c. 1170 – Avis as a noun.[3][4]
  • c. 1185 – À mon avis.[2]
  • 1356 – A piece of advice.[2]
  • 1690 – Avis au lecteur.[2]
  • 1789 – Préavis.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. An opinion, view: à mon avis, être du même avis, changer d'avis, m'est avis que, it seems to me.[9][5][1]
  2. Advice, counsel: demander l'avis d'un médecin.[5][1]
  3. A notice, announcement: avis au public, sauf avis contraire, avis de recherche.[1][2]
  4. A formal opinion of an authority: avis du Conseil d'État.[7]

Word family

  • préavis
  • aviser
  • avisé
  • raviser

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f 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 c d e f Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  4. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 14, 534b
  7. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  8. ^ 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
  9. ^ Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert