brusquement

Pronunciation

• IPA: /bʁys.kə.mɑ̃/^[1]

Forms

brusquement^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from French brusque + -ment,^{[2][3][4][1][5]} matching Italian bruscamente.^[6] brusque is borrowed from Italian brusco (“sharp, rough”) (1373), originally the name of the butcher's broom, a spiny plant, probably from Late Latin bruscus.^[6][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Rabelais (1534; 1546 according to the GLLF) has Le quel brusquement entrant, “who, entering abruptly”.^[2][4][3][5]

Semantic evolution

Like the adjective, which until the 17th century also meant “rough, strange, lively, bold”, the adverb could mean “roughly, rudely”, a sense the Petit Robert marks as old; its modern sense is “suddenly, without warning”.^[6][4]

Timeline

• 1373 – The adjective brusque is borrowed.^[6]
• 1534 – Brusquement, Rabelais.^[2][4]
• 17th century – The modern sense of the adjective is fixed.^[6]

Meanings

Adverb

1. suddenly, abruptly, without warning: le temps a brusquement changé.^[4][1]
2. (old) Roughly, brusquely, curtly.^[4][1]

Related words

• brusque
• brusquer
• brusquerie

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
4. ^ a b c d e f Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
6. ^ a b c d e Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France