dedans

Pronunciation

• IPA: /də.dɑ̃/^[1]

Forms

dedans (adverb, preposition); dedans m (noun, invariable)^[1] Old French dedenz, dedens, dedans from the 12th century.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is from Old French de + denz, the older form of dans.^{[4][5][6][7][8]} The Old French adverb continues inherited from Late Latin deintus (“within, inside”), from dē (“from”) and intus (“within”).^[4][5][9]

Compare Picard dedins, Walloon divint and Old Occitan dedins.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Vie de saint Alexis (about 1050) has dedenz as an adverb, and the Chanson de Roland (about 1100) as a preposition.^[4]

Semantic evolution

Dans was first an adverb, “inside”, but left that use to dedans; as dans spread as a preposition from the 16th century, dedans lost its prepositional use (dedans la chambre), still common in the 17th century but condemned by Vaugelas in 1647.^[5][4] The noun le dedens appears in 1530, in Palsgrave, parallel to its opposite dehors.^[4][5]

With some verbs it forms popular phrases: ficher dedans “to deceive; to lock up” (1793), later mettre or foutre dedans, se foutre dedans “to get it wrong”, and entrer or rentrer dedans “to bash, lay into” (late 19th century).^[5][7] Balzac (1841) has donner dedans “to be taken in”.^[10]

Timeline

• c. 1050 – Dedenz, adverb, Vie de saint Alexis.^[4]
• c. 1100 – Preposition, Chanson de Roland.^[4]
• 1530 – The noun le dedens, Palsgrave.^[4]
• 1647 – Vaugelas condemns the prepositional use.^[4]
• 1793 – Ficher dedans.^[5]
• Late 19th century – Rentrer dedans.^[5]

Meanings

Adverb

1. inside, within: il n'y a rien dedans, là-dedans, in there.^[7][1]
2. En dedans, au-dedans: on the inside; inwardly.^[7][4]
3. (familiar) Mettre (foutre) quelqu'un dedans: to fool someone, (military) to put in the guardhouse, rentrer dedans, to crash into, lay into.^[7][5]

Preposition

1. (archaic) Inside, in; now only after another preposition: de dedans l'armoire.^[7][2]

Noun

1. The inside, interior: le dedans d'une maison.^[1][4]

Related words

• dans
• dehors

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
3. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
4. ^ 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
5. ^ a b c d e f g h Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ a b c d e f Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 3, 31b
9. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
10. ^ Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF