Etymologically
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demeurer

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /də.mœ.ʁe/[1]
  • IPA: /də.mø.ʁe/[1]

Forms

demeurer[1] Old French demorer (about 1050), demurer, demourer (until the 16th century); demeurer from 1176–1184, after the forms stressed on the stem.[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *demorare, for classical dēmoror (“to delay, linger; to hold back”), from dē- and moror (“to delay”), from mora (“delay”) (see moratoire).[2][5][4][6][7][8] The TLFi and Rey describe it as borrowed from Latin.[3][2] The sense “to stay, live” must have developed in late Latin, since Italian dimorare and Old Occitan demorar have it too.[4][2]

Old French demorer also gave English demur in the 13th century.[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Vie de saint Alexis (about 1050) uses demorer for “to delay”, and in the Chanson de Roland (about 1100) Li Arabiz de venir ne demurent “the Arabs are not slow to come”; the Roland also has it for staying where one is.[3][9]

Semantic evolution

The sense “to delay” faded in the 16th century, while “to stay” and, from before 1200, “to reside” spread.[2][3] The noun demorant “what remains” (1349) left the phrase au demeurant “after all”, used since Commynes.[3][2] The past participle demeuré became a noun for a mentally backward person in 1919.[3][2]

The noun demeure kept the old sense “delay” in il y a péril en la demeure (1690), often misunderstood today, and in legal mettre en demeure.[2][4]

Timeline

  • c. 1050 – Demorer “to delay”, Vie de saint Alexis.[3]
  • c. 1100 – “To stay”, Chanson de Roland.[3]
  • 1176–1184 – The form demeurer, Gautier d'Arras.[3]
  • before 1200 – “To reside”.[3]
  • c. 1464 – Au demeurant, Commynes.[2]
  • 1919 – Un demeuré.[3]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To live, reside: il demeure à Paris (with avoir).[1][7]
  2. (formal) To remain, stay (with être): demeurer immobile, il est demeuré fidèle.[7][1]
  3. To last, persist: le souvenir demeure.[1]
  4. En demeurer là: to leave it at that.[7]
  5. Au demeurant: for all that, after all.[2][3]

Word family

  • demeure
  • demeuré
  • moratoire
  • Latin dēmoror

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l 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
  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. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  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 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, 38a
  9. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette