benoît

Forms

benoît (feminine benoîte, masculine plural benoîts, feminine plural benoîtes)^[1] Old French beneeit, benëoit, later benoist.^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French beneoit, inherited from Late Latin benedictus (“blessed”), the past participle of Latin benedīcō (“to bless”).^[1][2][3][5] Rey derives it from a form of the Latin participle with short /i/, beside the form with long /i/ that gave bénit.^[2] In Old French it was the past participle of beneïr (“to bless”); as a participle it was ousted by the long-/i/ form in the 17th century and lived on only as an adjective.^[4][6][3]

benêt is a dialectal doublet of the same word, with the Norman pronunciation.^[2][3][1] Cognate with Italian benedetto and Old Occitan benezech.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Rey dates beneeit to about 1130, meaning “blessed”.^[2][4]

Semantic evolution

From “blessed” the word came to mean “happy, on whom the divine blessing rests” (1172–1175) and “consecrated by ritual” (about 1190).^[2] Littré's quotations show it in religious phrases such as Froissart's la benoite vierge Marie in the 15th century.^[7] The religious sense turned ironic in 1546 and aged in the 17th century, which led to the meaning “sanctimonious, putting on an air of sugary, hypocritical piety” (1838).^[2] The GLLF also notes a classical sense “indulgent, benevolent”.^[6] In 19th-century slang it was used as a noun for a pimp.^[8]

The same word, read through the Beatitude about the poor in spirit, gave benêt “simpleton” (1611).^[2][3] Today benoît is a literary archaism, and the adverb benoîtement seems more common than the adjective.^[2]

Timeline

• c. 1130 – Beneeit “blessed” is first recorded.^[2][4]
• 1172–1175 – Benëoit “blissful, blessed by God”.^[2][4]
• c. 1190 – Used of things consecrated by ritual.^[2]
• 12th century – The plant name benoîte appears as beneoite.^[2]
• 14th century – The adverb beneoitement “in a blessed way” is recorded once.^[8][2]
• 1546 – First ironic use.^[2]
• 1611 – The doublet benêt is used of a foolish young man.^[2]
• 17th century – Bénit replaces it as the past participle of bénir.^[6][3]
• 1823 – Benoîtement “blissfully” is taken up again.^[8][2]
• 1838 – The sense “sanctimonious” is recorded.^[2]
• 1876 – Jean Richepin uses benoît as slang for a pimp.^[8]

Meanings

Adjective

1. (archaic) blessed, holy.^[8][6][7]
2. (ironic) Affecting a sweet, pious air, sanctimonious: un sourire benoît.^[8][9][6]
3. (pejorative) Of speech: simple-minded, bland.^[8]
4. (alchemy, obsolete) La benoîte pierre, or la benoîte: the philosopher's stone.^[8]

Noun

1. (slang, obsolete) A pimp.^[8]

Word family

• benoîtement
• benoîte

Related words

• bénir
• bénit
• benêt
• Benoît
• Latin benedīcō

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, 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. ^ a b c d e Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 1, 324b
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 c d e f g h i 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