décorum

Forms

décorum m (plural décorums)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin decōrum (“what is fitting, propriety”), the neuter of the adjective decōrus (“fitting, adorned”) used as a noun.^[2][3][4] The adjective is derived from decor (“what is fitting, ornament”), from the group of decet (“it is fitting”),^[3][5] which also gave décent.^[3] The verb décorer belongs to the same family.^[3][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded in 1587, in Pierre Crespet's Le Jardin de plaisir, for the rules of propriety.^[2][3] Bloch and Wartburg and the GLLF give the Satire Ménippée (1594) as the first record, where a prelate wishes garder le decorum et la dignité du rang “to keep the decorum and the dignity of the rank” that he holds in the Church.^[7][5][4]

Semantic evolution

Furetière records the phrase garder le décorum, to observe all the rules of propriety.^[3] In the 19th century the word narrowed to official etiquette and protocol (1889, Pierre Loti).^[2][3] At the same time, probably under the influence of décor and décorer, it took the sense of what adorns, a showy outward appearance (Balzac, 1835), which became pejorative: ostentatious luxury.^[3][2]

Timeline

• 1587 – Pierre Crespet uses it for the rules of propriety.^[2][3]
• 1594 – It appears in the Satire Ménippée.^[7][5]
• 1835 – Balzac uses it for a showy outward appearance.^[2]
• 1889 – Pierre Loti uses it for official protocol.^[2][3]

Meanings

Noun

1. The rules of propriety that a society keeps in order to maintain its rank, or that suit an occasion: observer le décorum.^[8][9][2]
2. Etiquette and protocol in official settings.^[8][9][2]
3. A showy outward appearance, pomp.^[9][2]

Related words

• décor
• décorer
• décent
• Latin decōrum

Usage notes

Littré and the Petit Robert treat it as used only in the singular, though Wiktionary gives a plural décorums.^[4][8][1]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
5. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
6. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
8. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ a b c Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)