compéter

Forms

compéter^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin competō (“to be suitable for, to belong to”), properly “to go or tend towards the same point”,^[2][3][1][4] formed from com- and petō (“to go towards”).^[5][6] Bloch and Wartburg note that the Latin verb had the sense “to fall to” in legal language.^[7] Littré compares Occitan competir, Spanish competer and Italian competere.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found about 1370 in Oresme's translation of Aristotle's Ethics, meaning “to suit, to belong to”: ne compete pas et n'est pas convenable à tout eage “is not fitting and suitable for every age”.^[2][6][3]

Semantic evolution

In 1398 it is found in the sense “to belong to someone by right”, and in Middle French it also meant “to fall to” and “to conform to”.^[2][3] It lived on longest in the language of law, where the Académie records the sense “to be within the jurisdiction of a court” in 1798.^[2][3] The verb never spread, partly because it sounds too much like péter.^[3]

Timeline

• c. 1370 – Oresme uses it for “to suit, to belong to”.^[2][3]
• 1398 – A charter of Jean, Duke of Berry, uses it for “to belong by right”.^[2]
• 1541 – It is used for “to conform to”.^[3]
• 1798 – The Académie records the legal sense “to be within the competence of a court”.^[2][3]
• 1804 – The Civil Code uses it of rights falling to an absent person.^[2]

Meanings

Verb

1. (law) With à: to be within the compétence or jurisdiction of a court.^[2][8][6]
2. (law) To belong or fall to someone by right.^[2][8][6]

Related words

• compétent
• compétence
• compétition
• compétiteur
• Latin competō

Usage notes

The verb is built with à;^[2] Chateaubriand once used it with de.^[2] Littré notes that the acute accent becomes grave before a mute syllable: il compète.^[6]

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 Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 2, 977a
5. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ a b c d e f Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
7. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
8. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse