disséminer

Forms

disséminer^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin dissēminō (“to spread abroad, scatter”), first recorded in 1503.^[2][3][4] That verb is formed from Latin dis- + sēminō (“to sow”), used literally and figuratively in Latin, and the latter comes from sēmen (“seed”).^[3][5][6] It is thus a learned relative of the inherited verb semer.^[3][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in 1503 in Le Guidon en françois, the French version of Guy de Chauliac's surgery.^[2][6] Littré's oldest quotation, from Ambroise Paré in the 16th century, describes a vein spread out over almost the whole mesentery.^[8]

Semantic evolution

The verb stayed rare until the 18th century;^[5][7] Bloch and Wartburg date it to 1787, with a single earlier record in 1503.^[9] Its proper sense is to sow seed by scattering it, said of natural agents such as the wind, and by extension it means to spread, scatter or disperse anything: troops, houses, ideas.^[3][6][2] In medicine the past participle describes a disease or infection that has spread through the body from a first focus.^[7]

The noun dissémination was borrowed in 1674 from Late Latin disseminatio, and disséminateur is recorded as a noun from 1486.^[3]

Timeline

• 1503 – First record of disséminer, in Le Guidon en françois.^[2][3]
• 16th century – Ambroise Paré uses the past participle of a vein spread through the mesentery.^[8]
• 1674 – The noun dissémination is borrowed.^[3]
• 1787 – The date from which Bloch and Wartburg record the verb in regular use.^[9]
• 1814 – Bernardin de Saint-Pierre writes of winds that scatter the seeds of old plants far away.^[2]

Meanings

Verb

1. (botany) To scatter seeds over a wide area, said of the wind or other natural agents.^[2][6]
2. To spread or disperse things or people here and there over a wide space.^[10][7][2]
3. (medicine) As a past participle, of a disease or infection: spread through the body from an initial focus.^[7]
4. (reflexive) Se disséminer: to scatter, spread out.^[8][7]

Word family

• dissémination

Related words

• semer
• séminal
• Latin dissēminō

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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
3. ^ a b c d e f g Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 11, 438b
5. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
7. ^ a b c d e f Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
9. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
10. ^ Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)