Etymologically
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effacer

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /e.fa.se/[1]

Forms

effacer[1] Old French esfacer, esfacier;[2][3][4] effacer from the 13th century.[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is from French é- + face + -er, formed in Old French as “esfacer”, properly “to remove the face, the figure”, with the privative prefix “es-” from Latin ex-.[5][2][6][3][7] face continues Late Latin facia, from classical faciēs (“face, form”).[8]

It matches Old Occitan esfassar.[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Oxford Psalter (first half of the 12th century) has it in an abstract sense, to wipe out without trace: seit esfaced li nuns de lui “let his name be blotted out”.[5][2][7]

Semantic evolution

In the first half of the 13th century Thibaut de Champagne uses it for outshining, son chief blont qui le fin or efface “her blond head that outshines fine gold”, and Corneille has the pronominal in that sense (1640).[5][2] The concrete sense, rubbing out what was written or drawn, is in Gautier de Coinci (about 1223), whence effacer un pays de la carte.[5][2]

In the 17th century it came to mean drawing back so as to present as little surface as possible: in fencing (1670, Molière), and in dancing effacer l'épaule (1704); from this the reflexive s'effacer means “to stand aside” (1721), “to give someone precedence” (1740) and “to keep in the background” (late 18th century).[2][9][5] Popular slang used it in 1867 for “to eat up” and “to kill”.[2] The adjective effacé “retiring” dates from after 1750, and ineffaçable from 1523.[2][8]

Timeline

  • c. 1120 – Esfacer “to blot out (a name)”, in the Oxford Psalter.[5][2]
  • c. 1223 – “To rub out (writing)”, in Gautier de Coinci.[5]
  • 1st half of the 13th century – “To outshine”, in Thibaut de Champagne.[5]
  • 1523 – Ineffaçable.[8]
  • 1670 – In fencing, in Molière.[2][3]
  • 1704 – In dancing, effacer l'épaule, in the Trévoux dictionary.[9]
  • 1740 – S'effacer “to give someone precedence”.[2]
  • 1867 – Slang “to eat up; to kill”.[2]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To erase, rub out (what is written or drawn): effacer un trait à la gomme, effacer le tableau.[4][3][1]
  2. (computing) To delete (stored data).[4]
  3. To make less distinct, fade.[4]
  4. To blot out, cause to be forgotten: effacer un souvenir.[2][5]
  5. To outshine, eclipse.[5][2]
  6. To draw back (a part of the body): épaules effacées.[2][3]
  7. (reflexive) S'effacer: to fade; to stand aside; to keep in the background.[2][4]

Word family

  • effacement
  • effaceur
  • effacé
  • effaçable
  • ineffaçable

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 n o p q Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  3. ^ a b c d e f 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 Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ 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
  6. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  7. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  8. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  9. ^ a b Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF