courir

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ku.ʁiʁ/^[1]

Forms

courir^[1] Old French curre, corre, courre (about 1050), and curir (1080); courre survives in chasse à courre.^[2][3][1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French curre, inherited from Latin currō (“to run”), with a change of conjugation to “-ir”.^{[4][2][5][6][1]} The older “courre” kept the Latin stress, and the future “je courrai” still comes from it.^[7][2] Rey connects “currō” with an Italo-Celtic and Germanic group of words for chariots and horses, including char, Wiktionary gives Proto-Indo-European *ḱers- (“to run”).^[2][1]

Cognate with Italian correre, Old Occitan corre, Spanish correr and Portuguese correr.^[5][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in the middle of the 11th century in the Vie de saint Alexis as curre, meaning “to move by bounds, run”, and also of a thing moving quickly.^[4][2]

Semantic evolution

In the Chanson de Roland (about 1100) it is used of running to reach someone and of flowing water.^[4] It meant “to be current, valid” in 1119 and, of a rumour, “to spread” after 1225, par les temps qui courent continues this.^[4][2][1] With an infinitive, “to go quickly in order to”, it dates from about 1160, and “to hurry” from 1262–1268.^[4] Transitive uses followed: “to roam (a country)” (about 1210), “to pursue” (about 1225), and later courir un risque, courir les filles and courir le monde.^[4][1] Courir in a race is in Amyot (1559).^[4]

Derivatives and compounds include courant and coureur (12th century) and encourir (12th century); courrier (1464) is borrowed from Italian corriere.^[5]

Timeline

• c. 1050 – Curre in the Vie de saint Alexis.^[4]
• c. 1100 – Curir, and ewe curant “running water”, in the Chanson de Roland.^[4]
• 1119 – “To be current”, in Philippe de Thaon.^[4]
• c. 1210 – Transitive “to roam”.^[4]
• After 1225 – Of a rumour, “to spread”.^[4]
• 1464 – Courrier, from Italian.^[5]
• 1559 – To run in a race, in Amyot.^[4]

Meanings

Verb

1. To run: courir vite, courir un marathon.^[1][4]
2. To hurry, rush: courir faire quelque chose.^[1][4]
3. (of a thing) To flow; to spread, circulate: le bruit court que….^[4][2]
4. To run in a race; to race.^[4]
5. (transitive) To roam: courir le monde; to frequent: courir les bals.^[4][1]
6. To run (a risk): courir un danger.^[1]
7. Courir après: to chase, tu peux toujours courir: no chance.^[1]
8. (Louisiana) To go.^[1]

Word family

• courant
• coureur
• encourir

Related words

• courre
• courrier
• cours
• course
• coursier
• curseur
• discourir
• parcourir
• recourir
• secourir
• accourir
• Latin currō

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r 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
5. ^ a b c d Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 2, 1565b
7. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette