enjoindre

Forms

enjoindre^[1] Conjugated like joindre (j'enjoins, nous enjoignons, past participle enjoint).^[2][3][4] Old French anjoindre.^[1] Anglo-Norman spellings include engoindre, enjuindre and enjundre.^[5]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin iniungō (“to inflict, impose”), made French after joindre.^{[6][7][8][3][1]} The Latin verb is made of in- and iungō (“to join, bind, yoke together”), which Rey derives from iugum (“yoke”).^[7][3]

Cognate with Italian ingiungere and Old Occitan enjonher.^[9][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLFi's first record is in Chrétien de Troyes's Perceval (1168–1191), meaning “to command expressly”.^[6] The Grand Robert and the Petit Robert date the word 1138, and the Anglo-Norman Dictionary has it in 1160–1174, in the sense of imposing a penance at confession.^[3][10][5] The GLLF finds it about 1170 in the Livre des Rois with the sense “to grant”.^[11]

Semantic evolution

The verb came in with the Latin sense of prescribing something, and in Old French it was used of the penance a confessor imposes, as in the Roman de Renart: penitance m'enjoingniez “impose a penance on me”.^[7][2][5] From 1280 it also meant to impose a fine on someone.^[7] In the 14th century the surgeon Henri de Mondeville writes that one must enjoindre silence et repos au pacient “prescribe silence and rest to the patient”.^[2]

The construction with a noun object (enjoindre quelque chose) has become dated.^[6][3] Today the verb is literary and is used mostly as enjoindre à quelqu'un de followed by an infinitive.^[7][10] The noun of action is injonction.^[7][8]

Timeline

• 1138 – The date of first record given by the Grand Robert and the Petit Robert.^[3][10]
• 1160–1174 – Recorded in Anglo-Norman for imposing a penance.^[5]
• c. 1170 – The Livre des Rois uses it in the sense “to grant”.^[11]
• 1168–1191 – Chrétien de Troyes uses it in Perceval for “command expressly”.^[6]
• 13th century – The Roman de Renart has the modern sense.^[11][2]
• 1280 – It means “to impose a fine on someone”.^[7]

Meanings

Verb

1. (dated) To prescribe or impose something on someone.^[6][3]
2. (literary) To order someone (à + person) expressly to do something (de + infinitive), to enjoin.^[10][12][4] Le capitaine enjoignit à ses hommes de garder le silence.^[10][12][4]

Related words

• joindre
• injonction
• Latin iniungō

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
3. ^ a b c d e f g Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
5. ^ a b c d Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
6. ^ a b c d e 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
7. ^ a b c d e f g 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. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
10. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
11. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
12. ^ a b Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)