défection

Forms

défection f (plural défections)^[1] Old French defectiun (about 1170).^[2][3]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin dēfectiō (“defection, desertion”).^[2][3][4] In Latin the noun also meant the eclipse of a heavenly body, a ceasing or exhaustion, and weakness, and in grammar an ellipsis.^[3] It was formed on the supine of dēficiō (“to fail, desert”), which had the same range of senses.^[3][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is defectiun in the Anglo-Norman romance Horn (about 1170), meaning a failing or weakness, a sense that has since died out.^[2][3] The Grand Robert and the GLLF instead give “eclipse” as the oldest sense, the GLLF from the Roman d’Alexandre at the end of the 12th century.^[5][6]

Semantic evolution

In the 15th century Commynes used deffection of a lord's defeat and failure.^[7][6] The modern sense, the abandoning of a party, an opinion or a cause one was bound to, is recorded by Richelet in 1680.^[2][3] The fixed phrase faire défection “to desert, to drop out” belongs to it.^[8][9]

By extension the word came to mean failing to turn up where one is expected (before 1850, Balzac).^[2][3] The sense “eclipse”, still entered in most general dictionaries of the 19th and 20th centuries and by Littré as a term of astrology, has gone out of use.^[3][7]

Timeline

• c. 1170 – Defectiun appears in Horn in the sense “failing, weakness”.^[2][3]
• 15th century – Commynes uses deffection for a defeat.^[7][6]
• 1680 – Richelet records the sense “abandoning a cause or party”.^[2][3]
• 1843 – The derived adjective défectionnaire “who defects” is recorded.^[3]
• before 1850 – Balzac uses it for not turning up where one is expected.^[2][3]

Meanings

Noun

1. The abandoning of a cause, party or leader one had supported: defection, desertion.^[8][9][2] Faire défection: to desert, to drop out.^[8][9]
2. A failure to turn up where one was expected, a no-show: plusieurs défections ont obligé à annuler le dîner.^[8][10][9]

Related words

• défectif
• défectueux
• déficient
• déficit
• indéfectible
• Latin dēfectiō

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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 l 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, 28a
5. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
7. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ a b c d Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
10. ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)