ensevelir

Forms

ensevelir^[1] Anglo-Norman spellings include ensepelir, enseveiler and ensevellir.^[2]

Etymology

It is probably formed from Old French en- + sevelir, the Old French verb (also sepelir) “to put a dead person in a tomb” (about 1120) being from Latin sepeliō (“to bury, to make disappear”).^{[3][4][5][6][7]} The TLFi, the DHLF and Bloch and Wartburg also allow a direct descent from the Christian Latin insepeliō (“to bury in”).^[3][4][8] The simple verb was itself ousted by the prefixed one.^[8] Wiktionary assumes a Vulgar Latin *sepelliō behind the Old French verb.^[1]

The Latin verb, whose supine is sepultum, also gave sépulture.^[4] Bloch and Wartburg cite Old Occitan sebelir and Spanish zabullir “to plunge” from the same Latin word.^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded in the first half of the 12th century, in the Oxford Psalter, meaning “to put in a grave”; the sense “to wrap in a shroud” follows in 1130–1140, in Wace.^[3][6][4]

Semantic evolution

The verb keeps the Latin sense, today in competition with enterrer.^[4] By analogy it came to mean “to cause to disappear under a heap” (about 1265, Jean de Meun), whence s'ensevelir sous les ruines, said of defending a town to the death (1662), a use now gone.^[4][6] The figurative sense “to hide away, to bury out of sight” is found about 1220 in Gautier de Coinci, and the reflexive is used from about 1640 for withdrawing into work or solitude.^[4][6]

Timeline

• c. 1120 – First record, in the Oxford Psalter, meaning “to put in a grave”.^[3][4]
• 1130–1140 – Wace uses it for wrapping a body in a shroud.^[3][4]
• c. 1220 – Gautier de Coinci uses it figuratively, “to hide away”.^[4][6]
• c. 1265 – Jean de Meun uses it of burying under a heap.^[4][6]
• c. 1640 – The reflexive is used of withdrawing into something.^[4]
• 1662 – S'ensevelir sous les ruines is recorded.^[4]

Meanings

Verb

1. (literary) To bury, to put a dead person in a grave.^[9][3]
2. To wrap a dead body in a shroud.^[9][3]
3. To cover over or cause to disappear under a mass of something: l'avalanche a enseveli la route.^[9]
4. (figurative) To hide something away, as if in a grave: ensevelir un secret.^[9][4]
5. (reflexive) S'ensevelir: to shut oneself away, to withdraw (into solitude, work).^[1][4]

Word family

• ensevelissement

Related words

• sépulture
• Latin sepeliō

References

1. ^ a b c d 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 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. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ a b c d e f Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
7. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 11, 477a
8. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
9. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert