comte

Pronunciation

• IPA: /kɔ̃t/^[1]

Forms

comte m (plural comtes, feminine comtesse)^[1] Old French oblique case compte, conte, subject case cuens, cons, quens; the subject form lasted until the 14th century.^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French conte, inherited from Latin comes (“companion; member of an emperor's retinue”), through its accusative case.^[2][5][6][7] The Latin subject case gave Old French cuens, later driven out by the oblique form.^[5][6][3] The Latin noun is formed from cum (“with”) and eō (“to go”), “one who goes with”.^[5]

Under Constantine it came to mean a high official in the emperor's suite, sent to the provinces with full powers; the Merovingian and Visigothic kings kept the title for their envoys, and under the Carolingians the growth of feudalism made it a title of nobility.^[6][2] Cognate with Spanish conde and Portuguese conde;^[6][5] Bloch and Wartburg think that Italian conte was borrowed from French.^[6][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Vie de saint Léger (second half of the 10th century) has compte for a high officer of the kingdom, here the mayor of the palace Ebroin.^[2][5]

Semantic evolution

In the early Middle Ages the count was a high officer who often held a civil or military command from the king; with baron it was one of the chief titles of the great vassals.^[5] About 1050 the Vie de saint Alexis uses it for a dignitary of the late Roman empire, a sense kept in history.^[2][5] The feudal sense “holder of a county” is found in the early 12th century, and it gradually became a mere title of nobility between marquis and viscount.^[2][5][8]

In 17th-century slang comte de la Carruche was a jailer (1630); 19th-century argot used comte for a simpleton (1872) and for a crooked gambler's accomplice (1878), senses since lost.^[2][5]

Timeline

• 2nd half of the 10th century – Compte in the Vie de saint Léger.^[2]
• c. 1050 – Cons, conpta in the Vie de saint Alexis.^[2]
• c. 1100 – Cuntesse “countess” in the Chanson de Roland.^[2]
• Early 12th century – Feudal sense “holder of a county”.^[2]
• 1407 – The spelling comte.^[2][9]
• 1630 – Slang comte de la Carruche “jailer”.^[2]
• 1872 – Argot “simpleton”.^[2][5]

Meanings

Noun

1. A count or earl: a title of nobility between marquis and vicomte: Monsieur le Comte.^[8][10]
2. (feudalism) The lord of a comté.^[8]
3. (history) A high dignitary of the late Roman empire or of the Frankish kingdoms: comte palatin.^[8][10]

Word family

• comtesse
• comté
• comtal
• vicomte

Related words

• comtat
• Latin comes

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n 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 Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
4. ^ Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ a b c d e Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
7. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 2, 940b
8. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
10. ^ a b Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)