charte

Forms

charte f (plural chartes)^[1] Old French chartre, the usual medieval form, which was used until the 19th century.^[2][3][4] Anglo-Norman had carte, cartre and charter beside charte.^[5]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French chartre, inherited from Latin chartula (“small writing”), in Late and Medieval Latin “deed, document”, in an altered form found before 1338;^[2][6][7][1] the Latin word is a diminutive of charta (“sheet of papyrus, writing, letter”).^[2][6][7][1] The second /r/ was lost by dissimilation or under the influence of the Latin base.^[6][1] Bloch and Wartburg instead see the modern form as a francization of the Latin base rather than a popular form, and note that it is very rare before the 16th century beside the older one.^[3]

The Latin base is an old borrowing of Ancient Greek χάρτης (khártēs, “sheet of papyrus”), of unknown origin.^[6][4] Cognate with Italian carta (“paper, letter”) and Spanish carta (“letter”).^[3][8] It is a doublet of carte, and of the English word charter.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the mid-11th century the Vie de saint Alexis has chartre for a letter, a written document or a deed.^[2][7]

Semantic evolution

Throughout the Middle Ages the word named a title deed: a record of a property, a sale or a privilege granted.^[6] This sense survives in the name of the École nationale des chartes, founded in 1821 to train specialists in old documents.^[6][2]

From 1771 it named the constitutional laws granted by a sovereign, first of the Great Charter of England (1215), then of the constitutional charter given by Louis XVIII in 1814.^[6][2] By extension it came to mean the fundamental principles of an official body, such as a trade union or the United Nations, and figuratively a basic rule (1826, Balzac).^[6][2] The Vichy Charte du travail dates from 1941.^[2] More recently it names a list of points that signatories agree to observe.^[4]

Timeline

• c. 1050 – Chartre appears in the Vie de saint Alexis.^[2][6]
• 1338 – Charte is found before this date.^[2][6]
• 1370 – The derivative chartrier keeps the old form.^[6]
• 1372 – Chartre partie “charter party” is recorded.^[6]
• 1606 – Nicot enters charte as a cross-reference to chartre.^[2]
• 1771 – The Trévoux dictionary uses la Grande Charte of England.^[2]
• 1814 – The chartre constitutionnelle of Louis XVIII.^[2]
• 1821 – The École nationale des chartes is founded.^[2][6]
• 1826 – Balzac uses it figuratively for a fundamental rule.^[2]
• 1941 – The Charte du travail is enacted.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. (history) In the Middle Ages, an official deed recording rights or privileges granted, a title of property or sale: une charte d'affranchissement.^[4][2]
2. The constitutional laws granted by a sovereign;^[4][2] la Charte, the constitution of the Restoration (1814), and la Grande Charte, the Magna Carta of 1215.^[4][2]
3. The fundamental rules of an official body: la Charte des Nations unies.^[4][6]
4. A set of points that one agrees to observe by signing: une charte de bonne conduite.^[4]

Word family

• chartiste
• charte-partie

Related words

• chartrier
• carte
• cartulaire
• Latin charta
• English charter

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s 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 Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
4. ^ a b c d e f g h Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
6. ^ 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
7. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter