deviser

Forms

deviser^[1] Anglo-Norman spellings include devicer, devisier and diviser.^[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French deviser, inherited from Vulgar Latin *devīsō, a form altered by dissimilation from *dīvīsō.^[3][4][1] This was made on Latin dīvīsum, the supine of dīvidō (“to divide, share out”).^[3][4][5] Bloch and Wartburg and the GLLF likewise start from the Vulgar Latin verb, which the GLLF calls a frequentative of the Latin one.^[6][7] The Petit Robert traces the Latin verb to an Indo-European root meaning “to separate”, also seen in Latin vidua (“widow”).^[8]

Cognate with Occitan devisar and Italian divisare.^[9][8] The verb diviser was later remade on the Latin form, and they parted for good in meaning in the 16th century.^[8][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded in 1119, in Philippe de Thaon's Comput, meaning “to divide”.^[3][4]

Semantic evolution

In Old French the verb had a wide range: to divide, distinguish, arrange, order and organize (1155), draw up a plan or build (1223–1226), and also to set out, tell or describe (1155).^[3][4][7] Several of these medieval senses disappeared in the 16th century: “to divide” gave way to diviser, and “to arrange” and “to plan” are last recorded by Cotgrave in 1611 and Monet in 1636.^[4][3]

The intransitive sense “to talk” appears about 1168 in Chrétien de Troyes;^[3][4] Rey explains it as coming from the idea of organizing a speech.^[3][4] Bloch and Wartburg date its development, the only sense kept, to about the 15th century, and the GLLF dates the modern sense to Commynes, about 1464.^[6][7] Today it means to chat in a familiar way and belongs to literary style, except in a few uses with an adverb such as deviser gaiement.^[4][10] The present participle devisant is used as an adjective once in 1536 and again from 1860, in the Goncourts' Journal.^[3][4]

Old French deviser also passed into English as devise (early 13th century), whose sense “to bequeath by will” comes from the notion of arranging a division.^[11]

Timeline

• 1119 – First record, meaning “to divide”, in Philippe de Thaon's Comput.^[3]
• 1155 – Wace's Brut uses it for “to arrange, organize” and “to tell, set out”.^[3]
• c. 1168 – Chrétien de Troyes uses it intransitively for “to speak”.^[3][4]
• 1223–1226 – The Dolopathos has it for “to build, draw up a plan”.^[3]
• Early 13th century – English borrows it as devise.^[11]
• c. 1464 – Commynes uses it in the modern sense “to converse”.^[7]
• 1536 – The present participle devisant is used as an adjective.^[3]
• 16th century – The sense “to divide” is abandoned in favour of diviser.^[4]
• 1611 – Cotgrave is the last to record the sense “to arrange, order”.^[3]
• 1860 – The Goncourts revive the adjective devisant.^[3]
• 1999 – The transitive deviser “to draw up an estimate for” appears.^[8]

Meanings

Verb

1. (intransitive, literary) To chat or converse in a familiar way: Les deux voisins devisaient sur le banc.^[10][12][3]
2. (transitive) To draw up an estimate (devis) for.^[8][12][1]

Word family

• devis
• devise

Related words

• diviser
• Latin dīvidō

Usage notes

The transitive deviser “to draw up an estimate for” is a recent formation from devis (1999), which the Petit Robert enters under its own number; it is mostly used in the past participle.^[8][12] The old senses of the verb survive in its derivatives devis and devise.^[6][4]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p 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 e f g h i j k l m Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 3, 109a
6. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
7. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
8. ^ a b c d e f Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
10. ^ a b Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
11. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
12. ^ a b c Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)