détendre

Forms

détendre^[1]

Etymology

The TLFi takes it as borrowed from Latin dētendō (“to slacken, unstretch”), used of striking tents, adapted to the form of tendre¹;^[2][3][1] Rey, Bloch and Wartburg, the Grand Robert, the GLLF and Littré instead give a French formation, from French dé- + tendre¹.^{[4][5][6][7][8][9]}

Cognate with Italian distendere and Old Occitan destendre.^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded about 1135 in the Couronnement de Louis, of tents being taken down: to slacken what was stretched.^[2]

Semantic evolution

The concrete sense, to loosen something taut such as a bow, a rope or a trap, is the oldest; a figurative use, calming one's anger, is found at the end of the 13th century.^[2][8] From 1501 it also meant to take down hangings or tapestries, or to strip a room of them, a use now old.^[4][7][2]

The psychological sense, to relieve tension in someone, belongs to modern French: the reflexive se détendre is used of the mind relaxing by Boileau in 1674, and of a person relaxing from 1870; the adjective détendu dates from the second half of the 19th century.^[2][4][3] In physics, détendre un gaz “to lower the pressure of a gas” is recorded in 1907.^[3][7]

Timeline

• c. 1135 – First record, in the Couronnement de Louis, of tents.^[2]
• Late 13th century – Used figuratively, of anger.^[2]
• 1501 – First used for “to take down hangings”.^[4][7]
• 1674 – Boileau uses the reflexive of the mind.^[2]
• 1870 – Se détendre “to relax” is recorded.^[3]
• 1907 – Détendre un gaz is recorded.^[3][7]

Meanings

Verb

1. To slacken or loosen what was stretched: détendre un câble, détendre un élastique.^[3][8][10]
2. (figurative) To ease the tension of someone or something; to relax: la musique l'a détendu.^[3][10][1]
3. (reflexive) Se détendre: to relax, unwind, of a person, the mind or a situation.^[3][10][1]
4. (physics) To lower the pressure of a gas.^[3][7][10]
5. (dated) To take down hangings, or strip a room of its hangings.^[2][7]

Word family

• détendeur
• détente

Related words

• tendre¹
• tente
• Latin tendō

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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 Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
6. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
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 Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
9. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 13/1, 199a
10. ^ a b c d Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)