Etymologically
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céder

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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
  • 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)