catholique

Forms

catholique (plural catholiques)^[1] Old French chatoliche (13th century), then catholicque (early 14th century); the spelling catholique dates from before 1603.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ecclesiastical Latin catholicus (“universal; orthodox”),^[3][2][4] borrowed from Ancient Greek καθολικός (katholikós, “general, universal”),^[3][2] a derivative of the adverb καθόλου (kathólou, “in general”), from ὅλος (hólos, “whole”).^[2] The Greek phrase for “the universal church” is found in Clement of Alexandria.^[2][3] Because the Church founded by Christ was meant to spread everywhere, the Latin word came to mean “orthodox” (Tertullian, after 207), and Augustine uses the noun in the plural for Christians as opposed to heretics.^[3][2]

Cognate with Old Occitan catolic, Spanish católico and Italian cattolico.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Godefroy has the form chatoliche in the 13th century; the first dated text is the Trésor attributed to Jean de Meun (now to Jean Chapuis), early 14th century: Si tu ne tiens foy catholicque “if you do not hold the Catholic faith”, meaning “of the Roman Church”.^[3][2][5]

Semantic evolution

The word has named and qualified what belongs to the Roman Church since its first records.^[2] The etymological sense “universal” came back in technical language before 1603 (Charron's “universal illuminator” of the world), with fourneau catholique and gnomon catholique recorded by Furetière in 1690.^[3][2] Sa Majesté Catholique was a title of the kings of Spain.^[5][6]

Alluding to the firmness of Catholic doctrine, the spoken phrase pas (très) catholique “not quite proper, dubious” appears in Mérimée in 1840.^[2] The familiar clipping catho is recorded from 1968.^[7] English catholic came from the French word in the mid-14th century.^[8]

Timeline

• 13th century – The form chatoliche is cited by Godefroy.^[3][2]
• Early 14th century – Foy catholicque in the Trésor attributed to Jean de Meun.^[3]
• c. 1389 – The adverb catholiquement is recorded, in Philippe de Mézières.^[3]
• 16th century – The derivative catholicisme appears.^[4]
• Before 1603 – Charron uses it for “universal”.^[3][2]
• 1690 – Furetière records fourneau catholique and gnomon catholique.^[3]
• 1840 – Pas catholique “dubious” in Mérimée.^[2]
• 1968 – The clipping catho is recorded.^[7]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Catholic, of or relating to Catholicism and the Roman Church: la foi catholique, l'Église catholique, apostolique et romaine.^[7][3]
2. Professing Catholicism: un pays catholique.^[7]
3. (familiar) Pas (très) catholique: dubious, not quite proper or honest.^[2][9]
4. (dated, technical) universal, serving for everything, as in gnomon catholique.^[5][3]

Noun

1. A Catholic: un catholique pratiquant.^[7][1]

Word family

• catholicisme
• catholicité
• catholiquement
• catho

Related words

• Latin catholicus
• English catholic

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n 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 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 Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
5. ^ a b c d Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
6. ^ Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
7. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
9. ^ Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF