consternation

Forms

consternation f (plural consternations)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin cōnsternātiō (“confusion, alarm, also mutiny”),^[2][3][4] a noun formed on the supine of cōnsternō (“to dismay, alarm”), the verb behind consterner.^[4][5] Wiktionary also analyses it as the verb with the suffix -ation.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Bersuire's translation of Livy (about 1355, in a manuscript from before 1380) uses it for a “riot, sedition”, rendering Livy's consternatio muliebris; this use stands alone.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

The Latin sense “mutiny” had grown out of “upheaval”, and the first French use kept it.^[3] The modern sense, deep dejection after a painful blow, appears in Fossetier's chronicle (1508–1517) but stayed rare before the 17th century.^[2][3] The Grand Robert and the Petit Robert date it to 1512;^[4][6][7] Cotgrave has it in 1611.^[4][6][7] The sense “physical and moral prostration” after an ordeal is now dated, and the usual meaning is helpless dismay at a terrible or unexpected event.^[2] Like the verb consterner, the word has weakened over time but still says more than the derivatives of étonner and ennuyer.^[3]

English borrowed the French word in the 1610s, in the sense “astonishment combined with terror”.^[8]

Timeline

• c. 1355 – Bersuire's Livy uses it for a riot or sedition.^[3][2]
• 1508–1517 – Fossetier uses it for dejection.^[2][3]
• 1610s – English borrows it.^[8]
• 1611 – Cotgrave records it.^[7]
• 17th century – The modern sense becomes common.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. Deep dismay and dejection caused by a disaster or an unexpected blow: la nouvelle a jeté la consternation dans le village.^{[6][9][10][2]}
2. (dated) Physical and moral prostration after an ordeal.^[2]

Related words

• consterner
• consternant
• Latin cōnsternātiō

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
6. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ a b c Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
8. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
9. ^ Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
10. ^ Académie française (1992–2024), Dictionnaire de l'Académie française, 9th ed., Paris: Académie française / Fayard / Imprimerie nationale