désarmer

Forms

désarmer^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from French dés- + armer, already in Old French as desarmer.^[2][3][1] The verb armer is from Latin armō (“to equip, arm”).^[4] Compare Old Occitan desarmar, Spanish desarmar and Italian disarmare.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

It first appears in the Chanson de Roland as a reflexive verb, “to take off one's arms or armour”: Icele nuit ne se velt desarmer “That night he would not take off his armour”.^[2][5] The TLFi dates the text to 1100, the Grand Robert, the GLLF and Bloch–Wartburg to 1080.^[2][3][6][4] In Old French it could also mean “to strip, undress”.^[3][7]

Semantic evolution

From the 12th century it meant to take someone's weapons away.^[8] A ship that is désarmé has been laid up, the opposite of armer a ship, from 1466; the verb is used intransitively from 1701 and of sailors, “to be discharged”, from 1773.^[8] In fencing it is to strike the sword from the opponent's hand (1718).^[8]

Figurative uses follow those of armer: Montaigne writes désarmer l'injure in 1588,^[2] and with a person as object it means “to soften, make yielding”, recorded in Racine in 1664 according to the TLFi and in Corneille in 1640 according to Rey.^[2][8] Intransitively it meant “to stop keeping up a war footing” (1681, Vaugelas),^[2] while since the mid-19th century it has meant “to give up”, mostly in the negative, as in sans désarmer.^[8] The noun désarmement is recorded in 1594.^[4]

Timeline

• c. 1100 – The Chanson de Roland uses sei desarmer “to take off one's armour”.^[2]
• 12th century – It means to take someone's weapons away.^[8]
• 1466 – First used of laying up a ship.^[8]
• 1588 – Montaigne uses it figuratively.^[2]
• 1594 – The noun désarmement is recorded.^[4]
• 1664 – Racine uses it of softening a person.^[2]
• 1681 – Vaugelas uses it intransitively, “to stop being on a war footing”.^[2]
• 1718 – First recorded in fencing.^[8]

Meanings

Verb

1. To take someone's weapons away, or force them to give them up: désarmer un cambrioleur.^[7][9][10]
2. (dated) To remove someone's armour; reflexively, to take off one's armour.^[2][7]
3. To reduce or abolish the armaments of a country; intransitively, to disarm.^[7][9][10]
4. (nautical) To lay up a ship, taking off its crew and equipment.^[7][10]
5. To make a weapon safe, by unloading it or setting the safety catch, or to defuse a mine.^[7]
6. (fencing) To knock the sword out of an opponent's hand.^[5][8]
7. (figurative) To calm a hostile feeling, or to make someone more lenient: désarmer la colère.^[7][10][8]
8. Intransitive, mostly in the negative: to give up, to let up: sans désarmer.^[8]

Word family

• désarmement
• désarmant

Related words

• armer
• arme
• armée
• réarmer
• Latin armō

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 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. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, 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 Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
6. ^ Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
7. ^ a b c d e f g Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ a b Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
10. ^ a b c d Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)