conquérir

Forms

conquérir^[1] Old French conquerre (also cunquerre), found until the end of the 16th century;^[2][3][4] conquerir from the 14th century.^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French conquerre, inherited from Vulgar Latin *conquaerō, a remaking after quaerō (“to seek”) of Classical Latin conquīrō (“to seek out on all sides, gather”), formed from com- and the simple verb.^[2][3][5][6] The old infinitive continued the stressed Latin form; in the 14th century it was remade as conquerir under the influence of quérir, like acquérir and requérir.^[2][3][4][7]

Cognate with Old Italian conquidere (today conquistare), Old Occitan conquerre and Spanish conquerir.^[3][4][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the Chanson de Roland (about 1100) cunquerre means to make oneself master of land by force of arms: Tresqu'en la mer cunquist la tere altaigne.^[2][7]

Semantic evolution

From the military sense came the wider “to win by struggle”, as in por pris et por los conquerre in Chrétien de Troyes (about 1176), and the language of love, “to win someone's heart, seduce” (about 1230).^[2][3] For a long time it was doubled by conquêter (1155), which aged from the mid-17th century.^[3] The present participle gave conquerant (Old French, early 13th century as an adjective), now conquérant.^[2][3]

Timeline

• c. 1100 – Cunquerre “take by arms” appears in the Chanson de Roland.^[2]
• c. 1176 – Chrétien de Troyes uses it for winning glory.^[2]
• c. 1230 – Used of winning someone's affection, in Fergus.^[2][3]
• 14th century – The form conquerir appears.^[2][3]
• Late 16th century – Conquerre is last found, in Huguet's sources and Cotgrave.^[2]

Meanings

Verb

1. (transitive) To conquer, take by force of arms: Les Romains conquirent la Gaule.^[8][9][1]
2. (transitive) To win or gain by effort: conquérir un titre, conquérir le pouvoir.^[8][10]
3. (transitive, figurative) To win over, charm: conquérir les cœurs.^[8][2][1]

Word family

• conquérant
• conquête
• reconquérir

Related words

• quérir
• acquérir
• requérir
• Latin conquīrō

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m 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 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. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 2, 1058a
7. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
10. ^ Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse