considération

Forms

considération f (plural considérations)^[1] Old French consideracion.^[1][2] A form considereson is found in the Roman de Fauvel (1310).^[3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French consideracion, borrowed from Latin cōnsīderātiō (“careful examination, then regard, esteem”).^[3][1][4] The Latin noun is formed on the supine of cōnsīderō (“to examine, consider”).^[5][6] The verb considérer was borrowed from Latin at about the same time, and it displaced the Old French consirer.^[7]

Cognate with Old Occitan consideracio, Spanish consideración and Italian considerazione.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in an Old French translation of the Book of Job, at the end of the 12th or start of the 13th century, meaning attention paid to something, careful examination.^[3][2]

Semantic evolution

The physical sense of looking at something has almost gone, and the intellectual sense of examination has largely given way to examen and attention, except in the set phrase prendre en considération “take into account”.^[4] In the plural the word came to mean observations or reflections on a subject, which gave titles to speculative essays from the 18th century, as with Montesquieu.^[4]

The sense of a reason weighed before acting appears in the 14th century in Froissart^[3][6] and survives in en considération de “in view of”.^[4] The sense “esteem, regard for someone”, which had grown up in Late Latin, is found from 1310;^[4][3] it is still very much alive after verbs such as jouir de and in the polite formulas that close letters.^[4]

Timeline

• c. 1200 – First recorded in the Old French Job, for attentive examination.^[3]
• 1310 – Considereson in the Roman de Fauvel, for the importance or regard given to something.^[3]
• 14th century – Froissart uses it for the grounds of a decision.^[3]
• 1396 – Pour consideration de is recorded.^[3]
• 1591 – Tenir en considération is recorded.^[3]
• 1792 – The antonym déconsidération appears.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. Careful examination of something, attention paid to it: prendre en considération, to take into account.^[8][3]
2. (in the plural) Observations or reflections on a subject: s'en tenir à des considérations générales, keep to general remarks.^[8]
3. A reason or motive weighed before acting: en considération de, in view of.^[8][4]
4. (literary) Esteem, regard for someone: jouir de la considération générale, to be widely respected.^[8]
5. In closing formulas of letters: agréez l'assurance de ma considération distinguée.^[8]

Related words

• considérer
• considérable
• inconsidéré
• reconsidérer
• Latin cōnsīderātiō

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k 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
4. ^ a b c d e f g h Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
7. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
8. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert