dette

Forms

dette f (plural dettes)^[1] Old French dete, deite, debte;^[2][3] Anglo-Norman also depte, det.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French dete, inherited from Latin dēbita, the neuter plural of dēbitum (“debt, what is owed”), taken as a feminine singular in popular Latin.^[4][5][6][7] The Latin noun is the neuter past participle, used as a noun, of dēbeō (“to owe”), the source of devoir.^[4][5]

The Latin singular gave the Old French masculine det, which made the word masculine too until the end of the 16th century.^[5][6] The masculine survives in the southern dialects, as in Old Occitan deute.^[6][5] Cognate with Spanish deuda.^[6] The learned débit is a doublet.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found as dete in Guernes de Pont-Sainte-Maxence's life of Thomas Becket (1174–1176), meaning “what one owes to someone”.^[4] The DHLF and the GLLF date it to about 1160, in Benoît de Sainte-Maure.^[5][8]

Semantic evolution

Dette pushed out the older masculine det, and the masculine use un dette lasted until the late 16th century;^[5][2] Littré notes that the gender long wavered between the Latin masculine and the feminine ending.^[5][2] The word has always been used both of money and, figuratively, of any obligation, like dû.^[5]

Its derivative endetter dates from 1180–1190, and endettement from 1611;^[5] surendetté and surendettement appeared in 1985 with the economic troubles of the time.^[5]

Timeline

• 1174–1176 – Dete in Guernes de Pont-Sainte-Maxence.^[4]
• 1180–1190 – The derivative endetter.^[5]
• 16th century – Last masculine uses un dette.^[5][6]
• 1611 – Endettement (as endebtement).^[5]
• 1841 – Dettier, a prisoner held for debt.^[4]
• 1985 – Surendettement.^[5]

Meanings

Noun

1. A debt: a sum of money one owes, or an obligation to a creditor: rembourser une dette.^[9][4]
2. (figurative) A moral obligation: une dette de reconnaissance.^[4][2]
3. Dette publique: the total borrowing of the state, the national debt.^[8]
4. Dette d'honneur: a debt one is bound on one's honour to repay, especially a gambling debt.^[8][2]

Word family

• endetter

Related words

• débit
• devoir
• dû

Usage notes

Common phrases are être criblé de dettes “to be riddled with debts” and, in older use, dettes criardes, small debts to tradesmen who press for payment.^[9][2]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
3. ^ a b Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
4. ^ a b c d e f g 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 i j k l m n Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ a b c d e Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
7. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 3, 22a
8. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
9. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert