déserteur

Forms

déserteur m (plural déserteurs, feminine déserteuse)^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from French déserter + -eur.^[2][3][4] Bloch and Wartburg think it was probably modelled on Latin dēsertor (“one who abandons”);^[5] Littré, the GLLF and Wiktionary derive it directly from the Latin noun,^[6][7][1] which comes from dēsertum, the supine of dēserō (“to abandon”).^[7][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in 1243 in Pierre de Fontaine's Conseil à un ami, with the general sense “one who abandons”;^[2][8] the GLLF and the Petit Robert date this text to 1253.^[7][4]

Semantic evolution

Until the 17th century the word kept the general sense of someone who abandons a person, a duty or a cause: Littré quotes Bersuire's deserteurs de leurs banieres (“deserters of their banners”) from the 14th century and Montaigne's deserteurs de nostre charge from the 16th.^[6][8] The special modern sense, a soldier who leaves his army, appeared in 1680, at the same time as the matching sense of the verb déserter.^[2][8][5]

The figurative use for someone who abandons a party, a faith or a cause has remained, mostly in literary style, and Littré records a familiar use for a friend who has long stayed away.^[4][7][6] The feminine forms are rare: Rey gives désertrice as a noun and déserteuse as an adjective, and the Petit Robert calls both unused.^[8][4]

Timeline

• 1243 – Pierre de Fontaine uses it for “one who abandons”.^[2]
• 14th century – Bersuire writes of deserteurs de leurs banieres.^[6]
• 1680 – Richelet records the military sense.^[2][8]
• 1864 – Littré records the familiar sense of a friend who stays away.^[7]

Meanings

Noun

1. A soldier who deserts or has deserted: un déserteur passé à l'ennemi.^[4][2]
2. (figurative, literary) A person who abandons a faith, a party or a cause; a renegade.^[4][7]
3. (familiar) Someone who stays away from their friends for a long time.^[7][6]

Related words

• désert
• désertion
• Latin dēsertor

References

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