détériorer

Forms

détériorer^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Late Latin dēteriōrō (“to make worse, spoil”),^[2][3][4] from dēterior (“worse, inferior”),^[3][5] the comparative of an unused adjective dēter (superlative dēterrimus), which contains the element dē.^[3]

Cognate with Occitan deteriorar, Spanish deteriorar and Italian deteriorare.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded in 1411, in the customary law of Anjou and Maine, for damaging a thing.^[2][7]

Semantic evolution

The verb kept the Latin sense, “to make worse, to damage”.^[3] Montaigne writes that doctors deteriorent their own health by the constant sight of illness.^[6] A figurative use, détériorer une âme, appears in Rousseau's La Nouvelle Héloïse (1767); it would sound clumsy now, because the verb has become concrete and technical and is used figuratively mostly of social or political situations.^[3][2] The noun détérioration, borrowed in the 15th century from Late Latin dēteriōrātiō, was rare before the 18th century.^[3][4]

Timeline

• 1411 – First recorded in the customary law of Anjou and Maine.^[2][3]
• 16th century – Montaigne uses it of doctors' health.^[6]
• 1767 – Rousseau writes détériorer une âme.^[2][3]

Meanings

Verb

1. To damage, to put something in poor condition so that it no longer works or serves: l'eau a détérioré le parquet.^[8][2][7]
2. (figurative) To make worse, to impair or harm: détériorer sa santé.^[8][7]
3. (reflexive) Se détériorer: to deteriorate, to get worse.^[8][6]

Related words

• détérioration
• Latin dēterior
• English deteriorate

References

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