consolider

Forms

consolider^[1] Old French consolder (13th century).^[2][3]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin cōnsolidō (“to make solid”), first found in the 13th century as consolder and in its present form in 1314.^[2][3][4] The Latin verb is formed com- and solidō (“to make firm”), from solidus (“solid”).^[3][5] It meant “to make firm” in imperial Latin, took figurative senses in Christian Latin and a legal sense in Late Latin.^[2][3] The early form was influenced by solder, a variant of souder,^[3] the verb inherited from the simple Latin verb.^[1]

Littré compares Old Occitan consoldar and Italian consolidare.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

It came in as a medical term: consolder “to heal a wound” is found in the 13th-century Livre des simples médecines, and consolider in Henri de Mondeville's Chirurgie in 1314.^[2][3] The Anglo-Norman Dictionary records it about 1270.^[7]

Semantic evolution

The idea of joining also appeared in law, where consolider l'usufruit avec la propriété (16th century) meant to unite the usufruct and the ownership in one person.^[3][2] The sense “make more solid, more stable” is first found figuratively at the end of the 15th century and concretely in 1548, in Noël du Fail; this concrete use, now common in building, is not given by Furetière in 1690.^[2][3]

In finance, annuités consolidées (1768) translated the English consolidated annuities, which led to consolider une dette (1789) and the plural noun consolidés.^[4][2][3]

Timeline

• 13th century – Consolder “to heal a wound” in the Livre des simples médecines.^[2]
• c. 1270 – Anglo-Norman record.^[7]
• 1314 – Consolider in Henri de Mondeville's Chirurgie.^[2][4]
• late 15th century – Figurative sense “make more stable”.^[2][3]
• 16th century – Legal consolider l'usufruit avec la propriété.^[2][3]
• 1548 – Concrete sense in Noël du Fail.^[2][3]
• 1768 – Annuités consolidées, after English consolidated annuities.^[4][2]
• 1789 – Consolider une dette in a cahier de doléances from Alençon.^[2][4]
• 1829 – The noun consolidés in Boiste.^[2]

Meanings

Verb

1. To make more solid or more stable, to strengthen a wall, a frame or a joint: consolider un mur.^[8][5][6]
2. (medicine) To help a fracture or a wound to knit, also la fracture est consolidée.^[6][5]
3. (figurative) To make stronger or more lasting: consolider une amitié.^[8][6][9]
4. (finance) To consolidate a debt or a rent: consolider une dette.^[8][2][1]
5. (law) To reunite the usufruct with the ownership.^[6]
6. Se consolider: to become firmer or more stable.^[6][8]

Word family

• consolidation

Related words

• solide
• souder
• Latin cōnsolidō

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 n o p 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 k l Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d e Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
5. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
6. ^ a b c d e f Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
7. ^ a b Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
8. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)