convenir

Pronunciation

• IPA: /kɔ̃v.niʁ/^[1]

Forms

convenir^[1] Old French often covenir; the ⟨n⟩ was restored after Latin in Middle French.^[2][1] Traditionally convenir de takes the auxiliary être and convenir à takes avoir, though the rule is often broken.^[3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French covenir, inherited from Latin conveniō (“to come together; to agree; to suit”),^{[5][3][2][6][7][1]} from com- and veniō (“to come”) (see venir).^[3][6][8] Bloch and Wartburg think the sense “to be fitting”, then “to be necessary”, dominant in Old French, survived in spoken Latin, and that the personal construction “to agree” (13th century), very rare in Latin, may have developed independently.^[2]

Cognate with Romanian cuveni, Italian convenire, Spanish convenir and Portuguese convir.^[9][10]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Vie de saint Alexis (mid-11th century) has the impersonal il convient “it is fitting, one must”; the Chanson de Roland has il nous i cuvent garde, “we must take care there”.^[5][3][10]

Semantic evolution

From the early 12th century it means “to be suitable for, to please” (Oxford Psalter, rendering te decet hymnus), and, from about 1165 “to suit, be appropriate to” a thing or person; with a personal object it passed from “to fit someone's situation” to “to be agreeable or useful to”, and se convenir was once said of two lovers (1762).^[5][3]

In the 13th century it took the sense “to admit the truth of” and, with a plural subject, “to agree on”, convint que “it was agreed that” is in Philippe Mousket (1243), and the participle convenu “fixed, agreed” in 1752.^[5][3] The Latin sense “to assemble” (1283) and the legal “to summon” (1432) died out in the classical period, as did “to correspond” (1538).^[3] Its derivatives include convenable and convenance (12th century) and déconvenue.^[2]

Timeline

• Mid-11th century – Impersonal il convient, Vie de saint Alexis.^[5]
• Early 12th century – “To be fitting for”, Oxford Psalter.^[5]
• c. 1165 – “To suit”, Benoît de Sainte-Maure.^[5]
• 1243 – Convint que “it was agreed”, Philippe Mousket.^[5]
• 13th century – “To admit”.^[5]
• 1752 – Convenu “agreed”.^[5]

Meanings

Verb

1. Convenir à: to suit, be suitable for, fit: les vêtements qui conviennent à la circonstance^[4][1]
2. (impersonal) Il convient de, il convient que: it is advisable, proper^[1][3]
3. Convenir de: to admit, acknowledge.^[1][3]
4. Convenir de: to agree on, arrange.^[1][5]

Word family

• convenable
• convenance
• convenu
• déconvenue
• inconvenant

Related words

• convention
• venir
• English covenant

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
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 Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ 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
6. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 2, 1126b
8. ^ Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
9. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
10. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette