cas

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ka/^[1]
• IPA: /kɑ/^[1]

Forms

cas m (invariable)^[1] Quas (about 1220), then cas (1300); the grammatical term was first written case.^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin cāsus (“fall; chance, event; misfortune; grammatical case”), the noun of cadō (“to fall”) (see choir).^{[3][2][4][5][6][1]} Properly “a falling”, the Latin word meant death by euphemism and “what happens, chance”, often with an unfavourable sense, “mishap”.^[2]

The grammatical “cas” (13th century) is the same Latin word in its grammatical use, a calque of Ancient Greek πτῶσις (ptôsis, “fall”), a form “falling away” from the nominative, hence an ending.^[4][5][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found as quas about 1220 in Gautier de Coinci's Miracles de Notre-Dame, meaning a circumstance.^[3][2]

Semantic evolution

In Middle French the word entered phrases still used today: en tout cas (before 1404) and en aucun cas (1545).^[3][2] Par cas “by chance” (1300) gave way to par hasard, and au cas où (1890) ousted au cas que (before 1404) and en cas que (1354), the latter continued in en cas de.^[2][3] The unfavourable Latin sense lives on in its most common complements (en cas de malheur) and in cas “mishap” (1531).^[2][3]

Faire cas de “to value” dates from 1537; the word is also used of a case in law and medicine, and in Quebec en tout cas, said quickly, is used as a mere filler, like English anyway.^[3][2]

Timeline

• c. 1220 – Quas in Gautier de Coinci.^[3]
• 13th century – The grammatical case.^[4][5]
• 1300 – Par cas “by chance”.^[3]
• 1354 – En cas que.^[3]
• Before 1404 – En tout cas and au cas que, in Froissart.^[3]
• 1537 – Faire cas de.^[3]
• 1890 – Au cas où.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. A case, an instance, a situation: dans ce cas, un cas particulier, le cas échéant.^[7]
2. En tout cas: in any case, en aucun cas: under no circumstances, au cas où: in case.^[3][2]
3. A legal or medical case, (familiar) a strange person: c'est un cas !, cas social.^[7][2]
4. Faire cas de: to think highly of, take into account.^[3]
5. (grammar) A case: les cas du latin.^[7]

Word family

• en-cas

Related words

• choir
• casuel
• occasion
• Latin cāsus

Usage notes

Cas is invariable: un cas, des cas.^[1] A rare adjective cas “broken, hollow-sounding” (Littré's cas 2) comes from Latin cassus or quassus.^[8]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o 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
4. ^ a b c d Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
5. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 2, 480a
7. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette