déclaration

Forms

déclaration f (plural déclarations)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin dēclārātiō (“a showing, manifestation”),^[2][3][1][4] which meant “explanation” in Late Latin; it is formed on the supine of dēclārō (“to make clear, declare”), from clārus (“clear”).^[2][3][5][6] It serves as the action noun of déclarer.^[3]

Cognate with Old Occitan declaratio, Spanish declaración and Italian dichiarazione.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded on 24 April 1290 in a document of the municipal archives of Besançon, for the act of declaring and a writing that makes something publicly known.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

A declaration of love is dated to Molière's Précieuses ridicules by the TLFi (1660) and the GLLF (1659), while the DHLF finds this sense in 1600.^[2][8][3] By metonymy the word named the detailed list of what one declares, as in déclaration des biens (Richelet, 1680).^[2][3] Following the verb, it came to mean the official making known of a fact, as in déclaration de guerre (Furetière, 1690).^[2][3]

Under the monarchy a déclaration du roi was a royal act explaining, amending or revoking an edict; the Déclaration des droits set out by the Constituent Assembly in 1789 listed the rights of man and the citizen.^[7] Administration has since multiplied the formal declarations made to an official, and télédéclaration is one made by telecommunication, especially for taxes.^[2][3]

Timeline

• 1290 – First record, in the archives of Besançon.^[2]
• 15th century – Commynes writes la declaration de cest article.^[7]
• 1600 – First record of the sense “declaration of love”, according to the DHLF.^[3]
• 1660 – Molière uses it of a declaration of love in the Précieuses ridicules.^[2]
• 1680 – Richelet records déclaration des biens.^[2][3]
• 1690 – Furetière records déclaration de guerre.^[2][3]
• 1789 – The Constituent Assembly issues the Déclaration des droits.^[7][9]

Meanings

Noun

1. The act of declaring, and the speech or writing by which one declares something: déclaration sous serment, déclaration de principes.^[9][6]
2. La Déclaration des droits de l'homme et du citoyen: the declaration of the rights of man and of the citizen (1789).^[9][6]
3. A declaration of love: déclaration d'amour, faire sa déclaration.^[9][6]
4. A formal statement to an authority of a fact or legal situation, such as a theft, a birth or one's income: déclaration de vol.^[9][2]
5. Déclaration de guerre: a declaration of war.^[7][2]

Word family

• télédéclaration

Related words

• déclarer
• déclaratif
• déclaratoire
• clair
• Latin dēclārātiō

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m 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. 3, 26a
5. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ a b c d e Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
9. ^ a b c d e Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)