bulletin

Forms

bulletin m (plural bulletins)^[1] Middle French also buletin, in Amyot.^[2]

Etymology

It is probably formed from Middle French bullette + -in.^[3][4][5] The Old French noun meant a seal (1299) and then a certificate (1371), and was still in use in the 16th century; it is a diminutive of bulle “seal”, which is from Latin bulla.^[3][4][1] Rey holds that this derivation makes it unnecessary to treat the French word as a borrowing of Italian bullettino, bollettino, used of a notice or order from an authority from the 14th century and of a certificate or receipt from the 16th; the Italian word did help the French word to spread in the 16th century.^[3] Bloch and Wartburg, the Grand Robert and the GLLF also see Italian influence on the sense “certificate”,^[4][6][5] while Littré took it straight from Italian bullettina, and Wiktionary allows a borrowing from Italian.^[2][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Bloch and Wartburg date it to 1520, the Grand Robert and the Petit Robert to 1532.^[4][6][7] From its first texts it meant a note giving notice of an order from an authority or an administration, first in matters of public health.^[3]

Semantic evolution

That specialisation set the course of the word, at the expense of the general sense “short written note”, which modern French expresses with billet.^[3] The sense “paper recording a vote” appeared at once (1539), though the Académie recorded it only in 1835.^[3] The word then named a written certificate issued by an official body (1611) and, by metonymy, a publication recording the acts of law, such as the Bulletin des lois de la République française (1793–1794), and later a review reporting a society's activities (19th century).^[3] In Marguerite de Navarre a bulletin is a pass that opens a gate; under the Empire the word was used of an account of a battle.^[2]

Timeline

• 1520 – First record, according to Bloch and Wartburg.^[4]
• 1532 – The date given by Rey and the Robert dictionaries.^[3][6]
• 1539 – The sense “voting paper”.^[3]
• 1611 – A written certificate.^[3]
• 1793–1794 – The Bulletin des lois de la République française.^[3]
• 1835 – The Académie records the voting sense.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. An official announcement or report for the public: bulletin météorologique, bulletin de santé.^[7][5]
2. A school report with a pupil's marks: il a eu un bon bulletin ce trimestre.^[7][5][1]
3. A certificate or receipt given to a user: bulletin de bagages, bulletin de salaire.^[7][5]
4. A printed form to be filled in and returned: bulletin d'abonnement.^[7]
5. Bulletin de vote: a ballot paper.^[7][8]
6. A periodical reporting the activities of a society, or a collection of official texts: Bulletin des lois.^[5][3]
7. (dated) A short written note.^[8][3]

Related words

• bulle
• boule
• Latin bulla

Usage notes

In Belgium and Luxembourg bulletin de virement corresponds to French mandat, and in Switzerland one says bulletin de versement or bulletin vert.^[3] The familiar phrase avaler son bulletin de naissance means “to die”.^[7]

References

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