concerner

Pronunciation

• IPA: /kɔ̃.sɛʁ.ne/^[1]

Forms

concerner^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Medieval Latin concernō (“to relate to”) (recorded in 1230), a scholastic development of Late Latin concernō (“to sift together, mix; to view as a whole”).^[2][3][4][5] The Late Latin verb is usually taken from con- (“together”) and cernō (“to sift; to distinguish”).^[5][6][1][7] According to Ernout and Meillet, however, the link with the simple verb is secondary: the Late Latin verb was first formed on concrētus (“grown together”), from concrēscō (“to grow together”), wrongly connected with the simple verb because it was felt to be the opposite of discrētus.^[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in a document of 1385 printed in the Preuves de l'histoire de Bourgogne.^[2][3][4]

Semantic evolution

The modern use, “to have to do with, relate to”, was established in Middle French: jonesses ne concernoient en quelconque maniere le noble lieu dont il estoit venu (15th century).^[3][7] En ce qui concerne, pour ce qui concerne were recorded by Furetière in 1690, and the present participle gave the preposition concernant (1596).^[2][3]

The passive être concerné “to be affected, involved” (18th century), much criticized, spread under the influence of English concerned (to be concerned), and by a natural shift from cela me concerne to je suis concerné.^[3][6]

Timeline

• 1385 – First record, in a Burgundian document.^[2]
• 1596 – The preposition concernant.^[3]
• 1690 – En ce qui concerne, in Furetière.^[2]
• 18th century – The passive être concerné.^[3]

Meanings

Verb

1. To concern, relate to, apply to: voici une lettre qui vous concerne, cela ne vous concerne pas, it is none of your business.^[6][1]
2. En ce qui concerne: as regards, as for, en ce qui me concerne, as far as I am concerned.^[6][2]
3. Être concerné: to be affected, involved, personally interested.^[3][6]

Word family

• concernant

Related words

• discerner
• concret
• Late Latin concernō

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b 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. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette