démocrate

Forms

démocrate m or f by sense (plural démocrates)^[1]

Etymology

It is a back-formation from French démocratie, first formed about 1550 by François de Bonivard as a term for ancient history, after Greek nouns in Ancient Greek -κράτης (-krátēs).^[2][3][4][5] The word stayed rare until the late 18th century, when it was formed again on the model of aristocratie beside aristocrate and spread during the Revolution.^[2][3][4][1] That noun itself goes back to Ancient Greek δημοκρατία (dēmokratía) through the Latin translations of Aristotle.^[4]

In American politics, for a member of the Democratic Party (1866) and for the party itself (1870), it is a semantic borrowing from the American English word democrat (1839), first applied to the old Democratic-Republican Party.^[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its first record, in François de Bonivard's chronicle of Geneva (about 1550), concerns the democracies of antiquity.^[2][3][5]

Semantic evolution

After an isolated use as a noun in 1785, the word became common during the Revolution for a partisan of democracy, set against aristocrate.^[5][6][3][4] The adjective is recorded from 1791, in a letter of Germaine de Staël.^[2] English took democrat from the French word in 1790, with reference to France.^[7]

In the 19th century it also came to name, after American English, a member of the Democratic Party of the United States: the Petit Robert dates this sense to 1825, the TLFi and the DHLF to 1866 (Hugo), and parti démocrate is recorded by Larousse in 1870.^[8][2][3][6] Démocrate-chrétien “Christian Democrat” dates from 1901, in a translation of an encyclical of Leo XIII.^[2][3]

Timeline

• c. 1550 – François de Bonivard uses démocrate of ancient history.^[2][3]
• 1785 – An isolated use as a noun in the Courrier de l'Europe.^[2][5]
• 1789 – The word spreads with the Revolution.^[5][3]
• 1790 – English borrows it as democrat.^[7]
• 1791 – First recorded as an adjective.^[2]
• 1866 – Hugo uses it for a member of the American Democratic Party.^[2][3]
• 1870 – Larousse records the American party.^[2][6]
• 1901 – Démocrate-chrétien appears.^[2][3]

Meanings

Noun

1. A partisan of democracy, of its principles and institutions; a member of a party that claims democracy.^[8][2]
2. A member or voter of the Democratic Party of the United States.^[8][6]

Adjective

1. Favouring democracy, democratic: un esprit démocrate.^[8][2]
2. Of the Democratic Party of the United States: le parti démocrate.^[8][6]

Word family

• démocrate-chrétien

Related words

• démocratie
• démocratique
• aristocrate
• English democrat

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 n o 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. ^ a b c d Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
5. ^ a b c d e Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ a b c d e Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
7. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
8. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert