dissimilaire

Forms

dissimilaire (plural dissimilaires)^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from French dis- + similaire, with the prefix marking the contrary.^[2][3][4][1] The adjective it negates is a learned derivative from Latin similis (“like, similar”).^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded in Ambroise Paré, in the preface to the first book of his works (the TLFi dates the text before 1590, the GLLF about 1560), for the composite parts of the body, which can be divided into parts of different kinds.^[2][3][4]

Semantic evolution

It began as a term of anatomy, the opposite of parties similaires: Cotgrave in 1611 glosses parties du corps dissimilaires as compound parts of the body made of several substances.^[5][4] The Académie recorded it from 1798 as a learned term, with parties dissimilaires such as the bones, arteries and muscles.^[6][7] Littré adds technical uses in physics, mineralogy and zoology,^[4] and the TLFi marks the word as rare.^[2]

Timeline

• c. 1560 – Paré's use, as the GLLF dates it.^[3]
• Before 1590 – Paré's use, as the TLFi dates it.^[2]
• 1611 – Cotgrave records parties du corps dissimilaires.^[5]
• 1798 – The Académie records it.^[6][2]

Meanings

Adjective

1. (rare, didactic) That is not similar, of another kind or species.^[2][7][3]
2. (anatomy) Parties dissimilaires: parts of the body made of different tissues, such as the bones, arteries and muscles.^[7][8]
3. (physics) Corps dissimilaire: a body whose powder differs in colour from the mass.^[4]

Related words

• similaire
• Latin similis

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 Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
4. ^ a b c d e Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
5. ^ a b Cotgrave, Randle (1611), A Dictionarie of the French and English Tongues, London: Adam Islip
6. ^ a b Académie française (1798), Dictionnaire de l'Académie française, 5th ed., Paris: Smits
7. ^ a b c Académie française (1932–1935), Dictionnaire de l'Académie française, 8th ed., Paris: Hachette
8. ^ Wiktionnaire (French Wiktionary), fr.wiktionary.org