errer

Forms

errer^[1] Old French also had the variants erroïer and erroër in the 12th century.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin errō (“to wander, go astray, be mistaken”).^[4][5][6][1] The Petit Robert relates the Latin verb to German irren (“to err, go astray”).^[7]

In Old French it was confused with the verb errer (“to travel, journey”), also oirrer, which comes from Late Latin iterō (“to travel”) (from iter (“journey”)), and it finally took its place; the sense “to wander” owes much to this merger.^[2][7][8][9]

Cognate with Italian errare, Occitan errar, Catalan errar, Spanish errar and Portuguese errar.^[7][9][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found about 1170 in Béroul's Tristan, meaning “to go here and there with no set aim”, though the passage may rather mean “to be perplexed”; the sense “to be mistaken” follows in 1174–1176 in Guernes de Pont-Sainte-Maxence's Saint Thomas.^[4]

Semantic evolution

The verb was rare before the 16th century.^[4][2][3] Its Latin sense “to be wrong” was used of mistaken belief, especially in matters of faith: Beaumanoir writes of one qui erre contre la foi in the late 13th century.^[8][10] Today this sense survives only in literary use.^[2][4]

The sense “to wander about with no fixed direction”, already present in the 12th century, became the usual one from the 16th century, helped by the confusion with Old French errer “to travel”.^[2][7] Amyot writes Il alla errant çà et là par le monde.^[8] By extension it is said of the mind or the thoughts that do not settle, as in laisser errer ses pensées.^[8]

English borrowed error in the 13th century and to err in the 14th.^[7]

Timeline

• c. 1170 – Béroul's Tristan uses it of going here and there without aim.^[4][2]
• 1174–1176 – Guernes de Pont-Sainte-Maxence uses it for “to be mistaken”.^[4][2]
• 12th century – The variants erroïer and erroër are recorded.^[2][3]
• c. 1283 – Beaumanoir uses it of erring against the faith.^[10][8]
• 16th century – Amyot uses errant çà et là of wandering; the verb becomes common in this sense.^[8][2][10]

Meanings

Verb

1. (literary, dated) To be mistaken, to err, to stray from the truth.^[4][7][10]
2. To wander or roam about, going here and there with no aim or fixed direction.^[4][7][1]
3. (figurative) Of the mind, the thoughts or the gaze: to drift without settling on anything.^[8]

Word family

• errant
• errance

Related words

• erreur
• erroné
• erratique
• erratum
• aberration
• Latin errō
• English err

Usage notes

Chevalier errant first meant a knight who travels from land to land (Old French errer “to travel”); it was later understood as “wandering knight”.^[8][9]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
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 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. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 3, 240b
6. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
7. ^ a b c d e f g Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ a b c d e f g h Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
9. ^ a b c Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
10. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse