esprit

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ɛs.pʁi/^[1]

Forms

esprit m (plural esprits)^[1] First written in the Latin form spiritus (late 10th century), then espirit and esperit, esprit appears in the 14th century and spreads from the 16th.^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin spīritus (“breath, air; life; soul; inspiration”), which came into French mainly through Christian religious texts, along with the Christian senses “disposition, intention; immaterial being, the Holy Spirit, angel, demon, ghost”.^[3][2][4][5] Latin “spīritus” is from spīrō (“to breathe, blow”), a verb with no known cognates outside Latin; in its sense of divine breath it matched Ancient Greek πνεῦμα (pneûma).^[2]

The GLLF and Grand Robert date the form “esperit” to the “Vie de saint Alexis” (about 1050).^[6][7] Littré noted that the regular outcome would have been “espir”, and that “esprit” supposes a different stress or a shift of the syllables.^[8] Wiktionary treats it as inherited through Middle French “esperit” from an older borrowing.^[1]

Cognate with Italian spirito, Spanish espíritu and Portuguese espírito.^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Passion de Clermont (late 10th century) has the Latin form spiritus for the principle of life, the soul, translating Matthew 27:50, where Christ gives up his spirit; the French form espirit is in the Oxford Psalter (early 12th century).^[3]

Semantic evolution

The Oxford Psalter also has the senses “wind, breath”, “creative breath sent by God”, “divine inspiration” and “conscience”.^[3] About 1155 Wace uses it for the intellect and for an imaginary being such as a sprite, and about 1170 li mals esperiz is the Devil.^[3][2] A ghost is esprit by 1458, and the esprit frappeur of spiritualism dates from 1865.^[3][2] Oresme (1370) has the subtle bodies thought to carry life and feeling, the esprits vitaux, a sense that survives in perdre and reprendre ses esprits (1538); rendre l'esprit “to die” is from 1309.^[3][2] In alchemy and old chemistry it was a product of distillation, esprit de vin (Paré, 1575).^[3]

From the late 15th century it named a person seen through their mind (un esprit pénétrant), and in 1511 a temperament.^[3][2] The sense of wit and liveliness, avoir de l'esprit, appears in Noël du Fail in 1547, bel esprit (early 17th century) turned pejorative by the end of that century.^[3][2] The same year 1547 has the spirit of a text as against its letter, followed by esprit de contradiction (1585) and the spirit of a group, Pascal's l'esprit de la Société (1656).^[3] In Greek grammar the breathings are esprits from 1655, and présence d'esprit dates from 1671.^[3][2]

English borrowed it in the 1590s as esprit “liveliness, wit”, and esprit de corps is recorded in English from 1780.^[9]

Timeline

• late 10th century – The Latin form spiritus in the Passion de Clermont.^[3]
• early 12th century – Espirit in the Oxford Psalter.^[3]
• c. 1155 – The intellect; an imaginary being, in Wace.^[3]
• 1309 – Rendre son esprit “to die”.^[2]
• 14th century – The form esprit.^[2][4]
• 1370 – Vital spirits, in Oresme.^[3]
• 1458 – A ghost, in Gréban's Passion.^[3]
• 1547 – Wit, liveliness, in Noël du Fail.^[3]
• 1575 – Esprit de vin in Ambroise Paré.^[3]
• 1590s – English esprit “wit”.^[9]
• 1655 – The Greek breathings, in Lancelot.^[3]
• 1656 – The spirit of a group, in Pascal.^[3]
• 1671 – Présence d'esprit.^[2]
• 1865 – Esprit frappeur.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. (Christianity) The Spirit of God, le Saint-Esprit, the Holy Spirit.^[10]
2. An immaterial being; a ghost: un château hanté par les esprits.^[11]
3. The mind, the incorporeal part of a person as opposed to the body.^[11][1]
4. The intellect, intelligence; the mind as the seat of thought: une idée me vient à l'esprit.^[11][1]
5. wit, liveliness: avoir de l'esprit, faire de l'esprit, un mot d'esprit.^[3][1]
6. A person considered for their mind: un esprit fort, un bel esprit.^[1][2]
7. A disposition or attitude: esprit d'équipe, esprit de contradiction.^[1][3]
8. The real sense or intent of a text or law, as against its letter.^[3][1]
9. (plural) One's senses: perdre, reprendre ses esprits.^[2]
10. (Greek grammar) A breathing mark: esprit doux, esprit rude.^[8][3]
11. (archaic, chemistry) A volatile product of distillation: esprit de vin.^[3][1]

Related words

• spirituel
• spiritueux
• Latin spīritus
• English esprit

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z 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 Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 12, 191b
6. ^ Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
7. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
9. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
10. ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
11. ^ a b c Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)