céder

Pronunciation

• IPA: /se.de/^[1]

Forms

céder^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin cēdō (“to go; to withdraw, give way”), which also meant “to be inferior” and “to concede”.^[2][3][4] Its origin is not clear;^[3] Rey mentions a possible link with cadō (“to fall”).^[3] Cognate with Spanish ceder and Italian cedere.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Oresme, in the Livre du ciel et du monde (1377), uses it for something that gives way under pressure.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

That physical sense seems to have been abandoned in the classical period and was taken up again from 1798 (Académie: la porte céda).^[2][3][5] In the 16th century it took the sense “to give up”, first as ceder a (Jean Lemaire de Belges, 1511), then transitively in law for transferring a right or property (Rabelais, 1534: je luy cede la mestairye).^[2][3][5] Ceder lieu, to make way, dates from 1537, and about 1580 it meant to give way before a stronger power, especially in war.^[2][3] It spread in the 17th century, with céder le pas and ne le céder en rien à quelqu'un (1671), céder la place (Pascal), and the absolute “to submit” (1673).^[2][3] In 1890 it is used of a woman giving herself to a man.^[3]

Timeline

• 1377 – “To give way under pressure”, in Oresme.^[2]
• 1511 – Ceder a “to give up”, in Lemaire de Belges.^[2]
• 1534 – The legal sense, in Rabelais.^[2]
• 1537 – Ceder lieu.^[2]
• 1671 – Céder le pas, ne le céder en rien.^[2][3]
• 1798 – The physical sense again, in the Académie.^[2]

Meanings

Verb

1. To give up, hand over something to someone: céder sa place, céder la parole, céder du terrain, to fall back, to make concessions.^[6][7]
2. (law, commerce) To transfer the ownership of: céder un fonds, un bail.^[6][5]
3. Ne le céder en rien à quelqu'un: to be in no way inferior to them.^[6][3]
4. Céder à: to yield to, stop resisting: céder à la tentation.^[6][8]
5. To give way, break under pressure: la porte céda sous nos efforts.^[5][8]

Word family

• cédant
• rétrocéder

Related words

• cession
• concéder
• accéder
• procéder
• Latin cēdō
• English cede

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l 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
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b c d e Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
6. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
8. ^ a b Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)