Etymologically
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ennuyer

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ɑ̃.nɥi.je/[1]

Forms

ennuyer[1] Old French enuier, anuier, enoier, ennuyer from the 13th century.[2][3] The ⟨uy⟩ spreads from the stressed forms (il ennuie), as in appuyer.[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French enoier, inherited from Late Latin inodiāre (“to be hateful”),[4][5][6][3][7][1] formed on the classical phrase in odiō esse (“to be an object of hatred”), in which the second word is the ablative of odium (“hatred”) (see odieux).[4][5][2]

Cognate with Italian annoiare and Old Occitan enojar, whence Spanish enojar.[6][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Chanson de Roland (about 1100) has the past participle in the sense “worn out with fatigue”: Nos cheval sont et las et ennuiez “our horses are weary and spent”.[4][5][8]

Semantic evolution

As in Latin, the verb had the strong sense “to torment, be unbearable”, first impersonally (Couronnement de Louis, about 1135); that sense dominated until the classical period, with s'ennuyer “to worry” after 1530.[4][5][6] Malherbe could still write extrêmement ennuyés de la perte of the grief caused by a friend's death.[2] The weakened modern sense “to be tiresome” appears in the 12th century but prevailed only after the 17th, with il m'ennuie de (15th century).[5]

S'ennuyer meant “to feel disgust for” (Benoît de Sainte-Maure, about 1175), then, weakened, “to grow weary” and “to be bored”.[4][5] The noun ennui (about 1120) followed a parallel course, from “deep sorrow, torment”, still its sense in Racine, to boredom and vague melancholy (1658).[5][6]

Timeline

  • c. 1100 – Ennuiez “exhausted”, Chanson de Roland.[4]
  • c. 1120 – The noun ennui.[5]
  • c. 1135 – Impersonal “to torment”, Couronnement de Louis.[4]
  • c. 1175 – S'ennuyer “to feel disgust”, Benoît de Sainte-Maure.[4]
  • 15th century – Il m'ennuie de.[5]
  • After 1530 – S'ennuyer “to worry”.[5]
  • c. 1400 – désennuyer, Guillaume de Machaut.[6]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To worry, trouble, put out: ça m'ennuie, cela vous ennuierait-il d'attendre ?, would you mind waiting?[9][1]
  2. To annoy, bother, pester.[9][1]
  3. To bore: ce film m'ennuie.[1][9]
  4. S'ennuyer: to be bored, s'ennuyer de quelqu'un, to miss someone.[1][9]
  5. (classical) To torment, grieve.[2][5]

Word family

  • ennui
  • ennuyeux
  • ennuyant
  • désennuyer
  • odieux
  • English annoy

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  3. ^ a b c 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. ^ 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 d e Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  7. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 4, 701b
  8. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  9. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert