diluer

Forms

diluer^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin dīluō (“to soak, dissolve”),^{[2][3][4][1][5]} formed with dis- on luō (“to wash, bathe”),^[3][6][7] a verb found mostly in compounds and belonging with lavō, the source of laver.^[3] It was first taken over in the 15th century and reborrowed in 1824.^[3][4][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

A 15th-century chronicle uses it for mixing a substance into a liquid; it remained rare until the 19th century.^[2][8]

Semantic evolution

Reborrowed in 1824 in the same sense, the verb came to mean adding water to a liquid (1834), and in homeopathy making a dilution (1864, Littré).^[2][3] The figurative sense of weakening or watering down is first found in Jules Lemaître (1885), of characters who are diluted versions of Balzac's Grandet and Nucingen.^[2][3] The present participle diluant became a noun in 1924, and dilution was formed in 1833 from the verb's stem.^[3][2]

Timeline

• 15th century – First recorded, for mixing a substance into a liquid.^[2][3]
• 1824 – Borrowed again.^[2][4]
• 1833 – dilution is formed.^[3]
• 1834 – It is used for adding water to a liquid.^[2]
• 1864 – Littré records the homeopathic sense.^[2]
• 1885 – Jules Lemaître uses it figuratively.^[2][3]
• 1924 – Diluant becomes a noun.^[2][3]

Meanings

Verb

1. To dilute a substance in a liquid, to délayer: diluer du sirop dans de l'eau.^[9][2][8]
2. To thin a liquid with water or another liquid, so as to lower its concentration.^[8][2]
3. (figurative) To weaken or water down: diluer un message.^[9][8][3]
4. (reflexive) Se diluer: to dissolve in a liquid.^[9][7]

Word family

• diluant
• dilution

Related words

• laver
• Latin dīluō

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 3, 80a
6. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
9. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert