Etymologically
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devoir

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /də.vwaʁ/[1]
  • IPA: /dvwaʁ/[1]

Forms

devoir[1] First recorded as dift “(he) must” (842); infinitive deveir (late 10th–11th century).[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French deveir, inherited from Latin dēbeō (“to owe; ought, must”).[3][5][4][1] The Latin verb is a compound of dē and habeō (“to have”) (whence avoir): it meant “to have something from someone”, money or any other thing, and, with an infinitive, “to be obliged to”.[2][6] Its family includes dette, “débet” and débit.[7]

It survives everywhere except in Romanian: Italian dovere, Spanish deber and Old Occitan dever.[7][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Strasbourg Oaths (842) have dift “must”, marking obligation: si cum om per dreit son fradra salvar dift “as one should rightly help one's brother”.[3][2]

Semantic evolution

All the senses of the Latin verb are found in French: obligation and necessity (842), and its weakened uses marking the future (about 1050), probability, wish and intention (about 1100).[3][2] Devoir with a direct object, “to owe”, is found about 1155, and “to be indebted for something” before 1188.[3] In the Middle Ages it also meant “to claim” and “to deserve”.[2]

The infinitive became a noun, le devoir “duty”, at the end of the 12th century, expressing only moral obligation; the plural devoirs “respects” dates from 1636 (Corneille).[4][2][8] The past participle dû gave dûment (1310), and doit, the debit side of an account, is a bookkeeping term.[7]

Timeline

  • 842 – Dift in the Strasbourg Oaths.[3]
  • late 10th century – Deveir in the Passion de Clermont.[3]
  • c. 1050 – Marking the future.[3]
  • c. 1100 – Marking probability, wish and intention, in the Chanson de Roland.[3]
  • c. 1155 – “To owe”, in Wace.[3]
  • late 12th century – The noun devoir.[4]
  • 1636 – Devoirs “respects” in Corneille.[2][8]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To owe: il me doit mille euros; to be indebted for: je lui dois la vie.[9][1]
  2. must, to have to: marks obligation: tu dois partir.[1][3]
  3. Must: marks probability: il doit être malade.[1][3]
  4. To be going to, to be due to: marks the future or an intention: il doit venir demain.[3][2]
  5. (conditional) Should, ought to: tu devrais le lui dire.[1]
  6. (literary) Dût-il: even if he had to.[1]

Noun

  1. duty, moral obligation: faire son devoir.[9][1]
  2. A school exercise, homework: faire ses devoirs.[1][8]
  3. (plural, dated) Respects: présenter ses devoirs.[2]

Word family

  • indu
  • indûment
  • dûment
  • dû

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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 m 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 3, 21a
  6. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  7. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  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