emplir

Forms

emplir^[1] In Old French the present was j'emple, from Latin impleō with the stress on im-.^[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French emplir, inherited from Vulgar Latin *impliō, an altered form of Latin impleō (“to fill”).^{[3][4][5][6][1]} The Latin verb is formed from the old verb pleō (“to fill”), which Rey connects with the Indo-European root Proto-Indo-European *pele- (“to be full”), the source through Latin of plein.^[5]

Cognate with Italian empiere and empire, Spanish henchir, whose ⟨h⟩ is due to a crossing, and Old Occitan emplir or umplir.^[6][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found about 1140, in the Voyage de Charlemagne, meaning “to make full”, of cellars.^[3][5] The Anglo-Norman Dictionary has it from 1113–19.^[7]

Semantic evolution

In the sense “to make full” the verb is now dated or literary, replaced in ordinary use by remplir, also in its figurative use (1176, Chrétien de Troyes).^[5][3][8] Bloch and Wartburg note that in the Gallo-Romance dialects remplir has driven emplir out almost everywhere.^[6]

In the early 13th century it was used intransitively of a ship taking in water.^[3][5] It also meant “to make (a female animal) pregnant” (1538), a regional use, and “to make (a woman) pregnant” in the late 16th century, a sense that classical French dropped.^[5] From Montaigne (1580) it means “to occupy (a space) wholly”, and the reflexive s'emplir “to become full” is recorded in 1680.^[3][5][9]

Timeline

• 1113–19 – Anglo-Norman record of the verb.^[7]
• c. 1140 – First record in the Voyage de Charlemagne.^[3]
• 1176 – Chrétien de Troyes uses it figuratively, in Cligès.^[3]
• early 13th century – Used of a ship taking in water.^[3][9]
• 1270 – Emplir sa panse “to eat”.^[5]
• 1538 – Used for making a female animal pregnant.^[5]
• 1580 – Montaigne uses it for occupying a space.^[3][9]
• 1596 – The derivative emplissage is recorded.^[3][5]
• 1680 – Richelet records s'emplir.^[9][5]

Meanings

Verb

1. (transitive, literary) To fill, make full.^[8][10][9]
2. (transitive) To fill, occupy (a space) wholly: la fumée emplissait la cuisine.^[8][9]
3. (transitive, figurative) To fill (someone) with a feeling: cette lettre l'a empli de tristesse.^[8][9]
4. (intransitive, of a ship) To take in water and be in danger of sinking.^[9][3]
5. (reflexive) To become full, literally and figuratively.^[9][1]

Word family

• désemplir
• remplir
• emplissage

Related words

• plein
• Latin impleō

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k 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
4. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 4, 590b
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
7. ^ a b Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
8. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ a b c d e f g h i Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
10. ^ Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)