empirer

Forms

empirer^[1] Old French empeirier, empirier; the form empirer is found from the middle of the 15th century.^[2][3][4] Anglo-Norman forms include empairer and emperer.^[5]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French empeirier, inherited from Vulgar Latin *impēiōrō (“to make worse”), formed from in- and Late Latin pēiōrō (“to aggravate”), from Latin pēior (“worse”).^[4][3][2][6] In the 13th century it was remade after pire.^[3][7][8]

Bloch and Wartburg say the Latin compound survived only in French;^[8] Wiktionary compares Spanish empeorar.^[1] The Old French verb, through Anglo-Norman, is the source of English impair.^[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found about 1050 in the Vie de saint Alexis, as the past participle ampairet “grown worse”, in the line Si'st ampairez, tut bien vait remanant (“the world has grown so much worse that all good is failing”).^[4][10]

Semantic evolution

About 1135 empirier meant “to damage, spoil, wound” in the Couronnement de Louis.^[4] The intransitive sense “to grow worse” is found from about 1155 for a social or personal situation, and since about 1314 also for the state of a sick person; it has nearly replaced the reflexive s'empirer.^[7] The transitive use “to make worse” survives in a literary style.^[7][4]

After the Middle Ages the verb and its noun empirement lost ground to words such as gâter, détériorer and altérer.^[7]

Timeline

• c. 1050 – The past participle ampairet appears in the Vie de saint Alexis.^[4][7]
• c. 1135 – Empirier means “to damage” in the Couronnement de Louis.^[4]
• c. 1155 – Wace uses empeirier in the intransitive sense.^[2][7]
• 13th century – The verb is remade as empirer after pire.^[3][7]
• c. 1314 – It is used of a sick person's condition.^[7]

Meanings

Verb

1. (intransitive) To get worse, to deteriorate: la santé de mon oncle a empiré.^[11][12][4]
2. (transitive, rare) To make worse, to aggravate.^[11][12][4]

Word family

• empirement

Related words

• pire
• pis²
• péjoratif
• Latin pēior
• English impair

Usage notes

Littré records the proverb un qui amende vaut mieux que deux qui empirent, “one who mends is worth more than two who grow worse”.^[10]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
3. ^ a b c d Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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
5. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 8, 156a
7. ^ a b c d e f g h Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
9. ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
10. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
11. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
12. ^ a b Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)