démographie

Forms

démographie f (plural démographies)^[1]

Etymology

It is a learned compound from French démo- + -graphie, made of the Greek-derived elements meaning “people” and “writing, description”.^[2][3][1] The first element goes back to Ancient Greek δῆμος (dêmos, “people”), as in démocratie;^[2][4][3] the second to γράφω (gráphō, “to write”).^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

It first appears in 1855 in the title of A. Guillard's Éléments de statistique humaine, ou démographie comparée, naming the statistical study of human populations.^[2][3][6]

Semantic evolution

The word was coined as the name of a science, the statistical study of human communities, and it kept that sense.^[3][6] Littré, a few years later, defined it as a learned term for the description of peoples by age, occupation and dwelling.^[7]

The Petit Robert dates from 1972 a broader use for the quantitative study of human or animal populations and their changes, and by metonymy the word also came to mean the size and state of a population itself, as in démographie galopante “runaway population growth”.^[6][8] Two derivatives followed quickly: démographe “demographer” and démographique “demographic”, both recorded in 1861.^[3]

Timeline

• 1855 – A. Guillard uses the word in the title of his Éléments de statistique humaine, ou démographie comparée.^[2][3][4]
• 1861 – Démographe and démographique are first recorded.^[3]
• 1873 – Littré enters it as a learned term.^[7]
• 1972 – The sense “quantitative study of human or animal populations” is recorded.^[6]

Meanings

Noun

1. Demography, the statistical study of human populations, their structure and changes.^[2][6][8]
2. (by metonymy) The size and state of a population, its numbers and growth: la démographie de ce pays ralentit.^[6][8]

Word family

• démographe
• démographique

Related words

• démocratie
• Ancient Greek δῆμος (dêmos)

References

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