consoler

Pronunciation

• IPA: /kɔ̃.sɔ.le/^[1]

Forms

consoler^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin cōnsōlārī (“to comfort, console”),^[2][3][4][5] a compound of com- and sōlor (“to comfort”), preferred to the simple verb in classical prose.^[3][6] Rey notes a possible link with Ancient Greek ἱλάσκομαι (hiláskomai, “to appease”), itself partly obscure;^[3] Littré instead linked it with sōlus.^[7]

Cognate with Spanish consolar and Italian consolare.^[7] The noun consolation was borrowed earlier, about 1050.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in the 13th century, in the Dits de l'ame and the Chastoiement d'un père à son fils.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

The verb has kept the Latin sense “to bring moral comfort”.^[3] In the 15th century it also meant “to rejoice” (Perceforest),^[7] and in classical French “to relieve, cure (a physical ill)” (Madame de Sévigné).^[8] With a thing as subject it means “to make up for”: ce n'est pas ça qui va le consoler.^[9][10] The derivatives consolant (1470) and inconsolé (1500) followed.^[3]

English console “to comfort” was borrowed from it in the 1690s.^[11]

Timeline

• c. 1050 – Consolaciun.^[3]
• 13th century – Consoler.^[2]
• 1470 – Consolant.^[3]
• c. 1500 – Inconsolé.^[4]
• 1690s – English console.^[11]

Meanings

Verb

1. To comfort, console: consoler un enfant qui pleure.^[9][10]
2. Of a thing, to compensate for, make up for: cette nouvelle le consolera de son échec.^[8][9]
3. (literary) To soothe (a grief).^[9][8]
4. (reflexive) Se consoler (de): to get over (something).^[9][7]

Word family

• inconsolé
• consolation
• consolateur
• inconsolable

Related words

• console
• English solace

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c 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. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 2, 1075a
6. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ a b c d Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ a b c 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
10. ^ a b Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
11. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com