déborder

Forms

déborder^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from French dé- + bord + -er.^[2][3][4][1] The TLFi derives the oldest sense, “with its edge torn off”, and the later “remove the border” instead from the verb border with the same prefix, and the usual sense “overflow” from the noun.^[2][5]

Cognate with Catalan desbordar and Spanish desbordar.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

In a manuscript of Benoît de Sainte-Maure's Roman de Troie (13th century) escur desborder means a shield whose edge has been torn off.^[2] The sense “spread over the banks”, of a river, is also found in the 13th century, in the archives of the Nord.^[2][5]

Semantic evolution

From the 13th century the verb was used of a river or liquid running over its banks or brim, at first intransitively, and also transitively from 1636 (déborder un mur “to stick out beyond a wall”).^[2][5] The figurative “go beyond what is planned or set” (1763) is a metaphor of the river leaving its bed,^[5][2] and in the 20th century it became a sports term, “to get past a defender on the outside”.^[6]

The past participle desbordé “dissolute” is in Commynes (1491), and Calvin wrote se déborder en intempérance “give free rein to one's passions” (1541).^[2][7] The old sense “remove the edge” lived on as “take the border off” (Richelet, 1680, especially in seamanship)^[2][5] and, from 1863, as “untuck the sheets of a bed”.^[2] The image of a full vessel is behind the saying la goutte d'eau qui fait déborder le vase.^[8][1]

Timeline

• 13th century – Escur desborder “shield with its edge torn off” in a manuscript of the Roman de Troie.^[2]
• 13th century – Used of a river overflowing its banks.^[2][5]
• 1491 – Commynes uses desbordé for “dissolute”.^[2]
• 1541 – Calvin writes se déborder en intempérance.^[2]
• 1636 – Monet records the transitive déborder un mur.^[2][5]
• 1680 – Richelet records “remove the border”.^[2]
• 1763 – First figurative use for “go beyond”.^[2][5]
• 1863 – Littré records déborder un lit.^[2]

Meanings

Verb

1. (intransitive) Of a river or a liquid, to overflow, to spill over the banks or the brim; of a container, to run over: La rivière a débordé après l’orage.^[8][2]
2. (figurative) To be overflowing with a feeling or quality: déborder de joie.^[8][7]
3. (transitive) To stick out beyond the edge of something.^[8][2][7]
4. (transitive) To go beyond a limit or a subject; of an enemy or opponent, to outflank.^[2][1]
5. (transitive) To untuck the sheets of a bed or of someone in bed.^[2][8]
6. (nautical) Of a boat, to push off from a ship's side.^[7][4]
7. La goutte d'eau qui fait déborder le vase: the last straw.^[8][1]

Related words

• débordé
• débordement
• bord
• border

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u 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. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
5. ^ a b c d e f g h Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
7. ^ a b c d Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ a b c d e f Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert