décadent

Forms

décadent (feminine décadente, masculine plural décadents, feminine plural décadentes)^[3]

Etymology

It is a back-formation from French décadence.^[4][1][5][3] The Petit Robert instead gives Medieval Latin decadens as its source.^[2] The noun itself was borrowed in 1413 from Medieval Latin decadentia, formed on cadō (“to fall”).^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Guillaume Michel uses it in 1516, in saison décadente “declining season”, of old age, in his continuation of Virgil's Eclogues.^[4][7]

Semantic evolution

Rabelais used it in 1546 for “weakened, decrepit”,^[7] and Brantôme in 1584; the word is then missing until 1834, when Boiste took it up with a reference to Brantôme.^[4][5]

In the 19th century it was revived: Bloch and Wartburg date it to 1864, and the GLLF finds the general sense “in decline” in the Journal officiel of 1874.^[6][7] As a noun for a person it is used by Théophile Gautier before 1872, and Gautier, Flaubert and the Goncourts used it freely for literary refinement.^[4][5] About 1885 école décadente became the name of a literary school, after Verlaine's line Je suis l'Empire à la fin de la décadence;^[6] the Petit Robert dates the phrase to about 1882.^[2] This school, pessimistic in outlook, prepared the way for symbolisme.^[2]

English decadent was taken from French in 1837, and its literary sense in 1888.^[8]

Timeline

• 1516 – Guillaume Michel writes saison décadente.^[4][7]
• 1546 – Rabelais uses it for “weakened, decrepit”.^[7]
• 1584 – Brantôme uses it; the word then drops out of record.^[4][5]
• 1834 – Boiste records it, citing Brantôme.^[4][5]
• 1837 – English borrows it.^[8]
• before 1872 – Gautier uses it as a noun.^[4][5]
• c. 1885 – École décadente names a literary school.^[6]
• 1890 – The Dictionnaire général records the adjective of art and the noun for a member of the school.^[7]

Meanings

Adjective

1. In decline, or showing the signs of decline: Une aristocratie décadente.^[2][4][9]
2. Of art or literature, marked by the over-refinement of a civilization in decline.^[7][4]
3. (literature) Belonging to the decadent school of the late 19th century.^[2][9]

Noun

1. A member of the decadent school, the pessimistic writers who came before the symbolists.^[9][7][2]

Related words

• décadence
• décadentisme
• déchoir

References

1. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
2. ^ a b c d e f g Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
4. ^ 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
5. ^ a b c d e f Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ a b c d Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
7. ^ a b c d e f g h Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
8. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
9. ^ a b c Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)