emprunter

Forms

emprunter^[1] Anglo-Norman spellings include emprumter, enprunter and enprompter.^[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French emprunter, inherited from Vulgar Latin *imprūmūtuō, an altered form of *imprōmūtuō, itself formed on the Classical Latin legal verb prōmūtuor (“to borrow”).^[3][4][5] The /u/ of the second syllable came from the following /u/ by regressive assimilation.^[3][6] The Latin verb is from prōmūtuum (“money advanced”), a compound of prō- (“beforehand”) and mūtuum (“money lent to be repaid without interest”), the neuter of mūtuus (“reciprocal, done by exchange”), which also gave mutuel.^[5][7] Rey connects the adjective with an Indo-European root Proto-Indo-European *mei- (“to change, exchange”).^[5]

Littré reports Diez's derivation from the Latin noun and Scheler's from an unattested verb, and notes the difficulty of the vowel /u/ for Latin /o/.^[8] In many Gallo-Romance dialects the verb was remade after prêter.^[6]

Cognate with Romanian împrumuta, Italian improntare and Occitan emprumtar.^[9][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in the Pèlerinage de Charlemagne (1125–1150) in the opposite sense “to lend”;^[3][10] the sense “to have something lent to oneself” appears in Wace about 1150.^[3][5]

Semantic evolution

The sense “to lend”, rarer than “to borrow” from the 12th century, was eventually given up.^[5][6] In Old French the verb could also mean “to receive (blows)” (13th century), and, from the early 13th century “to use, have recourse to (outside help)”, a sense now literary, like “to put on (a borrowed appearance)” (1538).^[5][3]

From the late 16th century it meant “to take from elsewhere and make one's own”, a sense specialized in the borrowing of words, the source of emprunt as a linguistic term.^[5][10] The familiar use for “to steal”, a euphemism, dates from 1850.^[5] The past participle emprunté has described an awkward, ill-at-ease person since about 1200.^[5][3]

Timeline

• 1125–1150 – First record, in the sense “to lend”, in the Pèlerinage de Charlemagne.^[3]
• c. 1150 – Wace uses it for “to borrow”.^[3]
• c. 1200 – The participle empruntez means “awkward, clumsy”.^[3]
• early 13th century – It is used for “to make use of”.^[3][5]
• 1538 – Robert Estienne records it for “to assume (an appearance)”.^[10][5]
• late 16th century – The sense “to take from another source” appears (Agrippa d'Aubigné).^[10][5]
• 1850 – Familiar use for “to steal”.^[5]

Meanings

Verb

1. To borrow; to obtain something on loan, to be given back later.^[11][3]
2. (absolute) To borrow money, to take out a loan.^[11][10]
3. (figurative) To take from another source and make one's own, as a language borrowing words.^[11][8]
4. To take, follow (a road or route).^[11][1]
5. (dated) To put on (a borrowed appearance), to imitate.^[11][8]

Word family

• emprunt
• emprunteur

Related words

• prêter
• mutuel
• Latin mūtuus

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
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, 606a
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m 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. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ a b c d Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
9. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
10. ^ a b c d e Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
11. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert