cohésion

Forms

cohésion f (plural cohésions)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin cohaereō (“to be attached together”), a learned formation on the stem of its supine cohaesum.^[2][3][4][5] Medieval Latin already had cohaesiō (“proximity, contact”) (845–868), which may have served as a model;^[2][4] the Grand Robert and Wiktionary take the word straight from the Latin noun.^[6][1] It is a doublet of cohérence, from the same Latin verb.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Bloch and Wartburg date the word to 1675, a date the TLFi gives without a reference.^[3][2] The first dated text is from 1740, where it means the force by which two things stick to each other.^[2][4]

Semantic evolution

The word was made as a term of physics for the force that makes the molecules of a body hold together.^[4][2] In the 19th century it spread in the figurative sense “union, unity” (1823), almost a synonym of its doublet cohérence, for the solidity of a logical link;^[4][2] Balzac used it in 1832 for the agreement between two things.^[2] It is also said of a human group acting together, such as a team or a government.^[4]

The negative incohésion (1787) has gone out of use, and the verb cohésionner, noted as a neologism in 1842, did not survive.^[4]

Timeline

• 1675 – Earliest date given by Bloch and Wartburg.^[3]
• 1740 – Demours uses it for the force by which two things adhere.^[2]
• 1787 – The negative incohésion appears.^[4]
• 1823 – Las Cases writes of la cohésion des citoyens, the figurative sense “union, unity”.^[2]
• 1832 – Balzac uses it for the agreement between words and actions.^[2]
• 1842 – Cohésionner is recorded as a neologism.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. (physics) The set of forces that hold together the molecules or parts of a body: la cohésion du béton.^[7][2][8]
2. The logical coherence and unity of a thought, an argument or a work.^[7][9]
3. Solidarity and unity among the members of a group: la cohésion d'un parti.^[7][4]

Related words

• cohésif
• cohérence
• cohérent
• Latin cohaereō

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 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 i j k Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 2, 849a
6. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ a b c 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
9. ^ Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse