canoniste

Forms

canoniste m or f by sense (plural canonistes)^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from French canon² + -iste, from the noun in the sense “church rule, canon law”.^[2][3][4] That noun is from Old French canon, from Latin canōn, which is from Ancient Greek κανών (kanṓn, “measuring rod, standard”).^[1][5] The DHLF notes that, apart from canonial and this word, the words of this family were taken directly from Latin.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is docteur canoniste “doctor versed in canon law”, in the early 15th century in the Traité de Salem.^[2][7] Bloch and Wartburg, the GLLF and the Petit Robert date it to the 14th century.^[5][8][9]

Semantic evolution

From the start the word named a learned man, usually a churchman, expert in droit canon.^[2][6] In Middle French it was also an adjective, “of canon law”, in les lois canonistes (1486).^[7][10] The 15th-century history of Joan of Arc names canonistes beside theologians and légistes, and Calvin set the canonists against the scholastic theologians.^[11] Cotgrave defined it in 1611 as a professor or practitioner of canon law, and the Académie recorded it in 1694.^[12][13]

Timeline

• Early 15th century – Docteur canoniste in the Traité de Salem.^[2][7]
• 15th century – Canonists and legists examine Joan of Arc in the Histoire de la Pucelle d'Orléans.^[11]
• 1486 – Used as an adjective in les lois canonistes.^[7][10]
• 16th century – Calvin writes of the controversy between canonists and scholastic theologians.^[11]
• 1611 – Cotgrave translates it “a canonist, a professor of, or practiser in, the canon law”.^[12]
• 1694 – The Académie defines it as a doctor of canon law.^[13]

Meanings

Noun

1. A canonist, a specialist in canon law, usually a clergyman.^[3][9][14]
2. (rare) As an adjective: proper to canonists.^[2]

Related words

• canon²
• canonique
• canoniser
• chanoine
• Latin canōn
• English canonist

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ Académie française (1992–2024), Dictionnaire de l'Académie française, 9th ed., Paris: Académie française / Fayard / Imprimerie nationale
5. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
6. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ a b c d Godefroy, Frédéric (1881–1902), Dictionnaire de l'ancienne langue française et de tous ses dialectes du IXe au XVe siècle, 10 vols., Paris: Vieweg / Bouillon
8. ^ Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
9. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
10. ^ a b Dictionnaire du Moyen Français, version 2015 (DMF 2015), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/dmf
11. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
12. ^ a b Cotgrave, Randle (1611), A Dictionarie of the French and English Tongues, London: Adam Islip
13. ^ a b Académie française (1694), Le Dictionnaire de l'Académie françoise, 1st ed., Paris: Coignard
14. ^ Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)