code

Forms

code m (plural codes)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin cōdex (“tablet for writing, register, code of laws”),^{[2][3][4][1][5]} a legal term in Latin.^[4][6] The Latin word, also written caudex, first meant “tree trunk”, then a writing tablet, perhaps of bark, and a book; it was specialised for an account book; from the 2nd century it also named a collection of laws such as the Gregorian Code.^[3][2] Its origin is unknown.^[3]

The sense “system of signals” (1866) may have been taken from English code, which has it from 1808;^[2][7] the later uses in information theory and computing also follow English.^[3] Cognate with Old Occitan codi, Catalan codi, Spanish código and Portuguese código.^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

Henri d'Andeli uses it in the Bataille des sept arts (1236) for a collection of laws and regulations, the Roman code.^[2][3] The Grand Robert, the Petit Robert and the GLLF date this text about 1220.^[9][10][6]

Semantic evolution

From Justinian's Code the word passed to other collections of laws: code pénal (1752), code maritime (1780) and the Napoleonic codes.^[3][10] By extension it means any set of rules and precepts, as in code de l’honneur.^[3][10]

In 1866 the navy's code de signaux gave the sense “system of signs agreed for sending a message”, as in code secret;^[2][3] Saussure used it in linguistics (before 1916), and it spread to cybernetics, computing and biology (code génétique).^[2][3] The code de la route was created by a decree of 31 December 1922, and its dipped headlights, prescribed by it, became feux de code (1941), now simply codes.^[3][2] The Latin word itself was taken up as codex for a pharmacopoeia, then (from 1838) for an ancient book as opposed to a scroll.^[3][4]

Timeline

• 1236 – Henri d'Andeli uses it for a collection of laws.^[2]
• 1752 – Code pénal.^[3]
• 1819 – The derivative codification.^[4][3]
• 1866 – Code de signaux, a system of signals, in the navy.^[2]
• 1916 – Saussure's Cours de linguistique générale uses it in linguistics.^[2]
• 1922 – A decree creates the code de la route.^[3]
• 1941 – Morand uses code for dipped headlights.^[2]
• 1959 – Décoder is formed after English to decode.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. A collection of laws: the code of Justinian; the body of laws on a branch of law: le Code civil, le Code pénal.^[10][11][12]
2. Code de la route: the highway code, and the test on it for a driving licence.^[10][11]
3. (plural) Dipped headlights: se mettre en codes.^[10][2]
4. A set of rules or precepts: le code de l’honneur.^[10][12][3]
5. A system of symbols used by convention to represent and send information: code secret, code postal, code-barre.^[10][3]
6. (linguistics, computing, biology) A structured system of signs and the rules for combining them: code génétique, code source.^[10][12][3]

Word family

• codifier
• codification
• coder
• décoder
• encoder
• codage
• code-barre

Related words

• codex
• codicille
• Latin cōdex
• English code

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 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 d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
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. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 2, 833a
6. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
7. ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
8. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
9. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
10. ^ a b c d e f g h i Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
11. ^ a b Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
12. ^ a b c Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)