effectuer

Forms

effectuer^[1] First as affectuer in the 15th century.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Medieval Latin effectuō (“to bring about, have effect”) (recorded in 1344),^[2][3][4] from Latin effectus (“performance, accomplishment”),^[2][3] the source of effet.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Jean Chartier has the form affectuez in the 15th century;^[2] in 1545 Ambroise Paré wrote that artillery does far more against a wall than against an earth-filled gabion (effectuer d'avantage), in the Latin sense “to have an effect”.^[2][5][3]

Semantic evolution

In 1588 it took the sense “to carry out, put into effect”,^[2][3] as in Montaigne and La Noue, and the pronominal s'effectuer is in La Noue in 1587.^[5][6] From 1818, first in a military context, it means to carry out a complex or delicate operation; this is the only sense in use today, and in the 20th century it spread to everyday uses such as making a journey or a payment.^[3][2] The use for working out a calculation is dated 1890.^[6]

Timeline

• 1400s – Jean Chartier writes affectuez.^[2]
• 1545 – Ambroise Paré uses effectuer of artillery.^[2]
• 1587 – S'effectuer appears in La Noue.^[6]
• 1588 – It means “to carry out” in Nicolas de Montreux.^[2]
• 1818 – Maine de Biran speaks of performing intellectual operations.^[2]
• 1890 – The Dictionnaire général records it for a calculation.^[6]

Meanings

Verb

1. To carry out, perform or execute an operation, especially a complex or technical one: effectuer une enquête.^[7][8]
2. To make or complete: effectuer un trajet, effectuer un paiement.^[3][7]
3. (mathematics) To work out a calculation to its result.^[6][1]
4. (obsolete) To put a plan or promise into effect.^[7][6]
5. (reflexive) s'effectuer: to take place, be carried out.^[6][7]

Word family

• effectuation

Related words

• effectif
• effectivement
• effet
• efficace
• Medieval Latin effectuō

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 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. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
5. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
6. ^ 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
7. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)