conquête

Forms

conquête f (plural conquêtes)^[1] Old French conqueste, cunqueste; the spelling with ⟨s⟩ lasted until the early 18th century.^[2][1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French conqueste, inherited from Vulgar Latin *conquaesita, the feminine of the past participle of *conquaerō (“to acquire, conquer”).^[2][3][4] The Old French participle conquis had replaced the inherited one before the first texts; the inherited form survived only as nouns, in this feminine and in the masculine conquêt, a term of the old law.^[5] The TLFi likewise treats it as the feminine of that noun.^[6] The Vulgar Latin verb is a new compound of quaerō (“to seek”), replacing Classical conquīrō (“to search out”).^[5] Wiktionary gives the Vulgar Latin form as *conquista.^[1]

Cognate with Occitan conquesta, Spanish conquista and Italian conquista.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded about 1160 in Benoît de Sainte-Maure's chronicle of the dukes of Normandy, meaning what has been won: conquered land or goods.^[6][8]

Semantic evolution

From the start conquête served as the action noun of conquérir, both for the act of conquering and for the territory or thing taken in war, a sense found from the 13th century.^[3][8] Villehardouin's chronicle speaks of a share of toute la conqueste, inside and outside the city.^[7]

The word moved early into the language of love: in Corneille (1636–1637) it is the winning of a heart and, by metonymy, the person won over, as in faire des conquêtes and sa dernière conquête.^[3][6][8] In modern usage it also names the effort to gain something abstract, such as power or a right, and the phrase à la conquête de means setting out to discover or win something.^[9] In Quebec, la Conquête is the British conquest of New France in 1759–1760.^[1]

Timeline

• c. 1160 – Conqueste “what is conquered” appears in Benoît de Sainte-Maure.^[6][8]
• 13th century – Villehardouin uses it of the spoils of a conquered city.^[7][3]
• 1636 – Corneille uses it of winning someone's love.^[8][3]
• 1637 – In Le Cid it means a person won over.^[6][3]
• early 18th century – The spelling conqueste goes out of use.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. The act of conquering a country or a people by force of arms: la conquête de la Gaule.^[9][6]
2. The territory or thing conquered, especially in the plural: Napoléon perdit toutes ses conquêtes.^[7][9]
3. The effort to win or gain something: la conquête du pouvoir, à la conquête de “setting out to win or discover”.^[9]
4. (figurative) The winning over of someone's affection or sympathy: faire la conquête de quelqu'un.^[9][7]
5. (familiar) A person one has seduced or won over: sa dernière conquête.^[3][1]

Related words

• conquérir
• conquêt
• reconquête
• Latin quaerō

Usage notes

In Quebec history la Conquête refers to the British conquest of New France in 1759–1760.^[1]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ a b c d e f g 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, 1058a
5. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
6. ^ a b c d e f 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
7. ^ a b c d e Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ a b c d e Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
9. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert