chasser

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ʃa.se/^[1]

Forms

chasser^[1] Old French chacier, Picard cachier, cassier (13th century).^[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French chacier, inherited from Vulgar Latin *captiāre,^{[3][2][4][5][6]} formed on captus, the past participle of capiō (“to take, catch”), beside the classical frequentative captō (“to try to catch”) (see capter).^[3][2][5] An adjective captiōsus “relating to hunting” appears in a letter of the African priest Stephen.^[3][2] The verb gradually ousted classical vēnor (“to hunt”), which survives in veneur and vénerie.^[2][4]

Cognate with Italian cacciare, Old Occitan cassar, Catalan caçar, Spanish cazar and Portuguese caçar.^[4][7][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Couronnement de Louis (1130–60) has chacier “to pursue animals in order to kill them”.^[3][2]

Semantic evolution

By the 12th century it also meant “to drive forward (a person)” (Wace, about 1160) and “to drive (an animal) before one” (Chrétien de Troyes, 1172–75), and “to drive out” (Guernes de Pont-Sainte-Maxence, 1172–74); the Chanson de Roland already has Par vive force les en cacerent Franc “the Franks drove them out by main force”.^[3][9] From the idea of a violent push came “to drive in (a nail)” (late 12th century) and the phrase un clou chasse l'autre (1690), now understood in the sense “to drive out”.^[3][2] After the Middle Ages it meant “to dismiss from a post” (1576), and in the 19th century “to dispel” (chasser les soucis).^[3][2]

Intransitive uses began at sea: a ship chasse sur ses ancres when it drags them (1678, chasser alone from 1545); they followed in printing (1688), of clouds driven by the wind (1797), in dance, after the noun chassé (before 1752), and of a car skidding (1929).^[3][2][10] In Belgian French it means “to blow hard”.^[2] The proverb bon chien chasse de race is recorded in 1669.^[3]

Timeline

• 1080 – Cacerent “drove out”, Chanson de Roland.^[9]
• 1130–60 – Chacier “to hunt”, Couronnement de Louis.^[3]
• c. 1160 – “To drive forward”, Wace.^[3]
• Late 12th century – “To drive in (a nail)”.^[3]
• 1576 – “To dismiss”.^[3]
• 1669 – Chasser de race.^[3]
• 1678 – Chasser sur ses ancres.^[3]
• 1690 – Un clou chasse l'autre, Furetière.^[3]
• 1797 – Of clouds driven by the wind.^[3]
• 1929 – Of a skidding car.^[3]

Meanings

Verb

1. To hunt: chasser le lièvre, (absolute) to go hunting, chasser sur les terres d'autrui, to poach on another's preserves.^[7][1]
2. To drive out, expel, turn out: chasser quelqu'un de chez soi; to dismiss.^[7][1]
3. To dispel, drive away: chasser les mouches, chasser une idée.^[2][7]
4. To drive forward, push before one: chasser des vaches.^[7][3]
5. (intransitive) Of a ship, to drag its anchors; of a vehicle, to skid; of clouds, to be driven along.^[3][10]
6. Bon chien chasse de race: like father, like son.^[7][3]

Word family

• chasse
• chasseur
• chasseresse
• pourchasser
• chasse-neige
• chassé-croisé
• chasse-marée

Related words

• capter
• captif
• veneur

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k 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 p q r s t u v 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 Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
5. ^ a b 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, 319a
7. ^ a b c d e f Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
9. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
10. ^ a b Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF