Etymologically
Log in

dissociation

History Permalink

Etymology and origin of the French word dissociation

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1400s L'Amant ressuscité More words from the 14th century
Ultimate origin
Latin dissocio

Pronunciation

  • /di.sɔ.sja.sjɔ̃/[1]

Forms

dissociation f (plural dissociations)[1]

Etymology

It is formed from French dissocier + -ation, from the stem of the verb.[2][3][4][5] Wiktionary takes it instead from Latin dissociātiō.[1] The verb is dissociō (“to separate”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded in the 15th century in L'Amant ressuscité, cited by La Curne, meaning the breaking off of an engagement: a planned marriage whose dissociation was “like a miracle of God”.[2][6][3]

Semantic evolution

Before 1593 Amyot used it as the verbal noun of dissocier, “separation of what was joined”.[2][3] In chemistry it came to mean the partial or reversible breaking up of a compound into its parts, as in dissociation électrolytique; the GLLF dates this sense from Littré (1864).[7][2][8] Psychiatry took it up around 1900 for the breakdown of the unity of the mind, seen as the basic process of schizophrenia;[8][9][7] this use produced the adjective dissociatif (1955).[3][2]

Timeline

  • 15th century – “Breaking off of an engagement”, in L'Amant ressuscité.[2][3]
  • before 1593 – Amyot uses it for the separation of what is joined.[2][3]
  • 1864 – The sense used in chemistry.[7]
  • 1896 – Dissociation mentale in psychiatry.[8]
  • 1955 – The derivative dissociatif.[2][3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The act of dissociating, or its result: separation: la dissociation de ces deux affaires.[8][2][7]
  2. (chemistry, physics) The partial decomposition of a substance into its components: dissociation électrolytique.[2][8][7]
  3. (psychiatry) Dissociation mentale: a breakdown of the unity of the mind, regarded as the basic process of schizophrenia.[8][7]

Word family

  • dissociatif

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j 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. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  5. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  7. ^ a b c d e f Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  8. ^ a b c d e f Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  9. ^ Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
Cite this entry

“Dissociation.” Etymologically, 15 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/dissociation. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·