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en1 in

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ɑ̃/[1]
  • IPA (before-vowel): /ɑ̃.n‿/[1]

Forms

en[1]

Etymology

The preposition “en” is inherited from Old French en, inherited from Latin in (“in, on, into”).[2][3][4] The Strasbourg Oaths (842) still have the Latin form “in”, “en” appears at the end of the 9th century.[4][5] Latin “in” had already taken on in Late Latin the senses and uses it has in French.[2] It goes back to Proto-Italic *en, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁én (“in”);[1] compare Ancient Greek ἐν (en) and German in.[6]

Cognate with Italian in, Occitan en, Spanish en and Portuguese em.[6][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Strasbourg Oaths (842) have in introducing a matter (in aiudha et in cadhuna cosa “in aid and in every thing”) and a movement in time (d'ist di in avant “from this day onwards”).[2]

Semantic evolution

By the end of the 9th century en marked the place where one is or goes (en ciel “in heaven”) and form or state (in figure de colomb “in the shape of a dove”); by the end of the 10th it meant “on” (en la cruz “on the cross”) and a moral state (en caritad).[2][4] The Chanson de Roland uses it for composition (en dous meitiez “in two halves”), duration (en III jurz) and before a present participle (en estant), the gerund, which became regular only in the 18th century.[2][4] En for the material something is made of (en terre cuite, 1521) has been criticized by purists from the 16th century to our day.[2][4]

Until the classical period the preposition had wider uses than now; since the 16th century it has often been replaced by dans.[4][7] Combined with the article it gave Old French el, ou and plural ès (about 980); ès survives in licence ès lettres.[4]

Timeline

  • 842 – In in the Strasbourg Oaths.[2]
  • late 9th century – En of place in the Sequence of Saint Eulalia.[2][5]
  • late 10th century – “On” and of a moral state, in the Passion de Clermont.[2]
  • c. 1100 – Of duration, and with the gerund, in the Chanson de Roland.[2]
  • c. 1170 – Of a change of state, in Chrétien de Troyes.[2]
  • 1521 – Of the material: en terre cuite.[2]

Meanings

Preposition

  1. in, to: marks the place, especially before feminine names of countries: en classe, en France.[8][5]
  2. In: marks a period of time or the time something takes: en été, en trois jours.[8][2]
  3. In: marks a state or manner: en colère, en bonne santé.[8][2]
  4. Made of: une table en bois.[2][4]
  5. Into: marks a change of state or a division: couper en deux.[2]
  6. With a present participle, forms the gerund: en marchant.[2][4]

en2 of it, from there

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ɑ̃/[1]
  • IPA (before-vowel): /ɑ̃.n‿/[1]

Forms

en[1]

Etymology

The pronoun “en” is inherited from Old French ent, inherited from Latin inde (“from there, thence”).[3][7][8] In Late Latin “inde” took on a value like that of the French pronoun, as in Commodian's “te paenitet inde” “you repent of it” (3rd century) and Anthimus's “inde reddo rationem” “I give an account of it” (6th century).[7] The form “ent” is found in the 10th century, “en” in the 11th.[3][8]

Cognate with Italian ne and Old Occitan en, Old Occitan ne.[7][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The pronoun appears as ent in the 10th century, with its original sense of place, “from there”.[3][7]

Semantic evolution

From “from there” the word came to stand for any complement introduced by de (“of it, of them, about it”), and for a quantity (j'en veux deux).[8][7] It also became a prefix of verbs of movement, as in s'enfuir, emmener, emporter and s'en aller; this use is found only in Gallo-Romance.[7]

Meanings

Pronoun

  1. From there: marks the place one comes from: j'en viens.[8]
  2. Of it, of them, about it: stands for a complement with de: j'en parle, il en rit.[8][1]
  3. Some, any, of them: stands for a quantity: j'en ai deux.[8][1]
  • dans
  • Latin in
  • Latin inde

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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 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 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  6. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert