convier

Forms

convier^[1] Old French cunveer (1125) and cunvier (1160–1174).^[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French cunveer, inherited from Vulgar Latin *convītō (“to invite”), a verb that Medieval Latin records from the 11th century.^[2][3][4] The Vulgar Latin verb is probably a cross between invītō (“to invite”) and convīvium (“feast, banquet”);^[2][3][5] Bloch and Wartburg describe it as a remaking of the verb for “to invite to a meal” after the word for “banquet”.^[6] Littré set aside Raynouard's derivation from Latin convīvor (“to feast”), since the /v/ could not have become /t/ or /d/, and discussed Diez's view that the prefix of the verb for “to invite” was replaced under the influence of the word for “feast”.^[7]

Cognate with Italian convitare, Old Occitan covidar and Catalan convidar;^[8][7] Meyer-Lübke regards Spanish convidar and Portuguese convidar as taken from Catalan.^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found as cunveer in 1125, in the Lapidaire of Marbode, meaning to invite someone to a meal or a gathering.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

Like inviter, the verb soon took a figurative sense, “to urge someone to do something”, recorded as cunvier de in Wace's Roman de Rou (1160–1174).^[2][3] Modern usage has replaced this construction with convier à.^[3] Littré still noted convier de as little used, kept alive by a well-known line of Corneille's Cinna.^[7]

In the 17th century the reflexive se convier de or à “to offer oneself to do something” and the noun convier “festive meal” went out of use.^[3] The past participle convié became an adjective and a noun meaning “guest” (Montaigne, 1580), but never spread like invité and was overtaken by the borrowing convive.^[3][2]

Timeline

• 1125 – Cunveer “to invite to a meal or gathering” appears in the Lapidaire of Marbode.^[2][3]
• 1160–1174 – Wace uses cunvier de “to urge to do something”.^[2][3]
• 1580 – Montaigne uses conviés as a noun for the guests at a feast.^[2][7]
• 17th century – The reflexive se convier and the noun convier “feast” go out of use.^[3]

Meanings

Verb

1. To invite someone to a meal, a party or a gathering: convier des voisins à un dîner.^[5][9][2]
2. (figurative, literary) To urge or encourage someone to an activity or to do something: la douceur du soir nous convie à flâner.^[5][10][9]

Related words

• inviter
• convive
• Latin convīvium

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 2, 1136b
5. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
7. ^ a b c d Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
9. ^ a b Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
10. ^ Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse