envi

Forms

envi m (plural envis)^[1] Old French envi; in the 16th-century phrase also enviz, envy.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French envi (“challenge at play, provocation”), a deverbal noun from Old French envier (“to invite, to incite, to challenge at play”).^[2][3][4][5] The verb continues Latin invītō (“to invite, engage”), which was later borrowed as inviter.^[2][3][6] The adverbial phrase grew out of a gaming expression meaning “to play on an opponent's challenge”.^[4][3]

The Latin verb took on the gaming sense “to challenge, to bid” in most of the Romance languages: compare Spanish envidar, Catalan envidar, Portuguese envidar and Old Occitan envidar, all gaming terms.^[4][6] Littré instead derived the phrase from invītus (“unwilling”), explaining it as “against someone's will”, and rejected invicem.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Old French noun is first found in the late 12th century, meaning a challenge at play or a provocation;^[2][3] Tobler–Lommatzsch quotes it from Richeut for an enticement to the game of love.^[8]

Semantic evolution

In the 16th century envi also meant “rivalry”.^[3][5] The adverbial phrase is first found in Rabelais (1534) as à tous enviz et toutes restes “outbidding”, hence “without restraint”, and as à l'envy in Marot (1543).^[2][3] From “in rivalry with one another” it came to mean “each trying to outdo the others”;^[4][2] since the origin is no longer felt, it has been influenced by envie “desire”.^[3] The prepositional à l'envi de “vying with” is recorded from 1549 (Robert Estienne) and is now out of use.^[3][9]

Timeline

• Late 12th century – Old French envi “challenge at play” is recorded.^[2][3]
• 1534 – Rabelais writes à tous enviz et toutes restes.^[2][3]
• 1543 – À l'envy in Marot.^[2][3]
• 1549 – À l'envi de “in rivalry with”, in Robert Estienne.^[9][3]

Meanings

Noun

1. Only in phrases: à l'envi (literary): vying with one another, each trying to outdo the others, emulously: Les oiseaux chantaient à l'envi.^[2][10][9]
2. À l'envi de (dated): in rivalry with, on a par with.^[2][9][11]

Related words

• renvi
• renvier
• inviter
• invite
• Latin invītō

Usage notes

Envi is pronounced like envie and is not related to it.^[10][3] Littré has a second article envi, a gaming term for the money staked to outbid one's partner at brelan or hoc, which he took from à l'envi in the sense of rivalry, with a 16th-century quotation from Amyot.^[7]

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
5. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 4535
7. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ Tobler, Adolf; Lommatzsch, Erhard (1925–2002), Altfranzösisches Wörterbuch, 11 vols., Berlin / Wiesbaden / Stuttgart: Weidmann / Steiner, p. 3:710
9. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
10. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
11. ^ Académie française (1932–1935), Dictionnaire de l'Académie française, 8th ed., Paris: Hachette