contractuel

Forms

contractuel (feminine contractuelle, masculine plural contractuels, feminine plural contractuelles)^[1]

Etymology

It is a learned derivative from Latin contractus (“contract”), the source of contrat, with the suffix -el.^[2][3][4][5] Wiktionary analyses it as a French formation from the noun with the same suffix.^[1] The Latin noun belongs to contrahō (“to draw together, conclude”), a compound of trahō (“to draw, drag”).^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded in 1596 as an adjective meaning “established or governed by a contract”, in Jean de Basmaison's work on the custom of Auvergne.^[2][7]

Semantic evolution

For centuries the word was a legal adjective;^[2][8] Littré records it in the law of succession, for an inheritance settled by a marriage contract.^[8] The adverb contractuellement appeared in 1838.^[2][5]

In 1953 the noun, short for agent contractuel, came into common use in France for a public employee working under contract rather than as a civil servant.^[2][5][9] From 1959 it named, more specifically, the auxiliary who records parking offences.^[2][5][9]

Timeline

• 1596 – First recorded as an adjective in Basmaison's commentary on the custom of Auvergne.^[2]
• 1838 – The adverb contractuellement appears.^[2][5]
• 1953 – The noun is used for a non-tenured public employee.^[2][9]
• 1959 – It names the auxiliary who enforces parking rules.^[2][5]

Meanings

Adjective

1. (law) Of or relating to a contrat; laid down by contract, contractual: une clause contractuelle.^[2][9][1]
2. Agent contractuel: a public employee who is not a fonctionnaire and works under a temporary contract.^[9][7]

Noun

1. A public employee hired under contract.^[9][2]
2. (France) An auxiliary of the police who enforces parking rules, a traffic warden.^[9][2][5]

Word family

• contractuellement

Related words

• contrat
• contracter
• Latin contractus

Usage notes

The opposite of a contractuel is a titulaire, a tenured employee.^[9] Familiar names for the parking warden are aubergine and pervenche, after the colour of the uniform.^[9] In older law, institution contractuelle and héritier contractuel refer to an inheritance settled by marriage contract.^[8]

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 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. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
4. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b c d e f g Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ Picoche, Jacqueline (1991), Dictionnaire étymologique du français, Paris: Le Robert (Les Usuels du Robert)
7. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
8. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
9. ^ a b c d e f g h i Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert