biographie

Forms

biographie f (plural biographies)^[1]

Etymology

According to Rey it is borrowed from Ancient Greek βιογραφία (biographía, “writing of a life”), a Late Greek word of about 500, borrowed directly, as was English biography.^[2] The Grand Robert, the Petit Robert and the Académie see it as formed from French bio- + -graphie.^[3][4][5] The Greek word is formed from βίος (bíos, “life”) and γράφω (gráphō, “to write”).^[1][6] The Wiktionnaire derives it instead from the English word, recorded in 1683.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded in the Dictionnaire de Trévoux in 1721, as the history of a person's life.^[6][3][2]

Semantic evolution

The word names both the writing of a life and the written account, a work about one person's life, and the literary genre.^[2][8] Rey notes that the genre was named in England toward the end of the 17th century and in France in the 18th, and became encyclopaedic in the 19th, with the Biographie universelle of Michaud begun in 1811.^[2] The derivative biographique is recorded in 1800, biographiquement in 1876 and biographier in 1832.^[2] The familiar clipping bio dates from 1970.^[4]

Timeline

• 1721 – The Dictionnaire de Trévoux records biographie.^[6]
• 1800 – Biographique appears.^[2]
• 1811 – Michaud's Biographie universelle begins to appear.^[2]
• 1832 – Biographier is recorded.^[2]
• 1970 – The clipping bio appears.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. A biography, a written or spoken account of a person's life: écrire la biographie d'un peintre.^[4][8]
2. The events of a person's life.^[9]
3. (dated) A collection of lives of famous people.^[8]
4. The literary genre of such accounts, and the study of them.^[8][5]

Word family

• biographique
• biographier
• autobiographie

Related words

• biographe
• bio
• hagiographie

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h 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 d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b Académie française (1992–2024), Dictionnaire de l'Académie française, 9th ed., Paris: Académie française / Fayard / Imprimerie nationale
6. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
7. ^ Wiktionnaire (French Wiktionary), fr.wiktionary.org
8. ^ a b c d 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. ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)