diplomate

Forms

diplomate m or f by sense (plural diplomates)^[1]

Etymology

It is a back-formation from French diplomatique (“diplomatic”), made on the model of the pair aristocratique and aristocrate.^{[2][3][4][5][1]} That adjective is from New Latin diplomaticus, used in 1681 in the title of a treatise by Mabillon, from Latin diplōma (“charter, official document”).^[4][5] The Latin word comes from Ancient Greek δίπλωμα (díplōma), properly a sheet folded in two.^[5][1][6] Littré explains that the diplomat was so named because diplomas are acts issued by princes.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found as an adjective in 1789, in the Mémoires of the Baroness of Oberkirch, in the figurative sense “skilful in dealing with people”.^[8][4]

Semantic evolution

The literal sense followed at once: in 1792 the adjective meant “charged with a mission to a foreign government”, and the noun appeared the same year in the title of a journal, Le Cosmopolite, ou le Diplomate universel.^[8][4] The GLLF cites the noun for an official representing his country from 17 May 1792, in le Défenseur de la Constitution.^[3] The derivative diplomatie followed in 1791, on the model of aristocratie.^[5]

Used of anyone who can handle a negotiation with tact, the noun is recorded by Boiste in 1839.^[3] In the 20th century diplomate became the name of a cold dessert served with a fruit sauce, first in Proust (1922),^[8][4] by the habit of naming a dish after a prestigious diner, as in vol-au-vent financière.^[4] The Wiktionnaire reports that the dessert is said to have been devised by Montmireil, Chateaubriand's cook, when Chateaubriand was a diplomat in London in 1822, and that the name is short for pudding à la diplomate.^[9]

Timeline

• 1681 – Mabillon's De re diplomatica uses the Latin adjective diplomaticus.^[4]
• 1789 – The adjective diplomate “skilful in dealing with people” appears.^[8][4]
• 1791 – Diplomatie is formed from diplomate.^[5]
• 1792 – The noun appears in a journal title, and the adjective is used of an envoy to a foreign government.^[8][4]
• 1839 – Boiste records the sense “person skilled in negotiation”.^[3]
• 1922 – Proust names a dessert diplomate.^[8][4]

Meanings

Noun

1. A diplomat, a person officially charged with representing a country abroad or in international affairs.^[10][8][3]
2. A person who knows how to handle an affair with tact.^[10][3][9]
3. (cooking) A cold dessert of biscuits or leftover pastries soaked in liqueur, with candied fruit, served with a fruit sauce.^[8][3][1]

Adjective

1. Skilful and subtle in dealing with people.^[10][7]

Word family

• diplomatie

Related words

• diplôme
• diplomatique
• aristocrate
• Latin diplōma

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ a b c d e f g Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b c d e Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
6. ^ Picoche, Jacqueline (1991), Dictionnaire étymologique du français, Paris: Le Robert (Les Usuels du Robert)
7. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ a b c d e f g h 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
9. ^ a b Wiktionnaire (French Wiktionary), fr.wiktionary.org
10. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert