déclivité

Forms

déclivité f (plural déclivités)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin dēclīvitās (“slope”), first recorded in 1487 in Garbin's Latin–French vocabulary.^[2][3][4][5] The Latin noun comes from dēclīvis (“sloping downward”), the source of déclive.^[4][6][7] Picoche places it, with that adjective, in the family of the Indo-European root Proto-Indo-European *klei- (“to lean”).^[8] The Latin adjective is formed from dē- (“down”) and clīvus (“slope”).^[9]

The English word declivity (1610s) comes from the French word.^[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

After its first record in a Latin–French vocabulary of 1487, the word is next found in Fontenelle about 1700, for the state of something that slopes.^[2][6][10]

Semantic evolution

Rey notes that the noun is more common than the adjective déclive.^[3] From the sense of inclination, measured against the horizontal, it came to name a sloping piece of ground; the GLLF dates this use to before 1848, in Chateaubriand.^[2][6] It is also used metaphorically, of a slippery slope.^[2] The FEW's first date is 1752, from the Dictionnaire de Trévoux.^[10]

Timeline

• 1487 – First record in Garbin's Latin–French vocabulary.^[2][3]
• 1610s – The English declivity is borrowed from French.^[9]
• c. 1700 – Fontenelle uses it of the state of a slope.^[6][10]
• 1752 – Recorded in the Dictionnaire de Trévoux.^[10]
• before 1848 – Chateaubriand uses it of sloping ground.^[6]

Meanings

Noun

1. The state of being in a slope; the degree of this inclination: la déclivité d'un chemin.^[11][12][2]
2. A slope, a sloping piece of ground.^[11][13][6]
3. (railways, roads) The gradient of the longitudinal profile of a road or track.^[13]

Related words

• déclive
• décliner
• enclin
• Latin dēclīvis

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ Académie française (1992–2024), Dictionnaire de l'Académie française, 9th ed., Paris: Académie française / Fayard / Imprimerie nationale
6. ^ a b c d e f Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
7. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ Picoche, Jacqueline (1991), Dictionnaire étymologique du français, Paris: Le Robert (Les Usuels du Robert)
9. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
10. ^ a b c d Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
11. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
12. ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
13. ^ a b Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)