exciter

Forms

exciter^[1] Old French esciter.^[2][3][4] The spelling with ⟨x⟩ is recorded from the 14th century.^[5]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin excitō (“to rouse, call out, stir up, provoke”).^[2][3][6][7] The Latin verb is formed from ex- and citō, which in the Republic was a legal and political word for summoning the senate or citing someone in court;^[3] it is the frequentative of exciō (“to call forth”), from cieō (“to set in motion”).^[6][4][5] Rey connects the Latin verb with an Indo-European root also seen in Ancient Greek κινεῖν (kineîn, “to set in motion”).^[3] The verb belongs to the family of citer.^[3][8]

Cognate with Occitan excitar, Spanish excitar and Italian eccitare.^[9] English excite comes from Old French esciter or directly from the Latin verb.^[10]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded as esciter about 1180 in Guillaume de Saint-Pair's Roman du Mont-Saint-Michel, in the sense “to awaken, rouse”.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

From the early 13th century it meant “to urge on, stimulate” a person, in the life of the mind, which led to uses for arousing desire, for making someone angry, for giving someone courage and, familiarly and often in the negative, for rousing keen interest.^[2][3] Exciter quelqu'un à “to move someone to” has gone out of use; the verb now means “to drive someone to”.^[3] Late in the 16th century it took the sense “to provoke a movement of the soul” (1587), and in the 17th century “to provoke a physical or physiological reaction” (1613).^[2][3]

Of its participles, excitant (1613) spread widely as an adjective only from the mid-19th century, perhaps under the influence of the English word exciting, and excité is recorded from 1846.^[3]

Timeline

• c. 1180 – Esciter “to awaken” in Guillaume de Saint-Pair's Roman du Mont-Saint-Michel.^[2]
• c. 1223 – Gautier de Coinci uses it for “to urge on, stimulate” someone.^[2][3]
• Mid-14th century – English borrows it as exciten.^[10]
• 1587 – La Noue writes ils exciterent l'indignation, “to provoke a feeling”.^[2][9]
• 1613 – First used of a physical reaction.^[2][3]
• 1613 – The participle excitant is recorded.^[3]
• 1842 – Surexciter is recorded.^[6]
• 1846 – Excité is used as an adjective and noun.^[3]

Meanings

Verb

1. To give rise to, arouse (a feeling or reaction): Ce film a excité la curiosité du public.^[8][2]
2. (physiology) To stimulate (an organ, a nerve, a secretion).^[2][3]
3. To urge, incite (someone to something): exciter quelqu'un au travail.^[9][3]
4. To make (someone) agitated or angry, to provoke.^[3][9]
5. To arouse sexually.^[3][8]
6. (familiar, often negative) To interest keenly: Ce projet ne l'excite guère.^[3]

Word family

• excitant
• excité
• surexciter
• surexcitation

Related words

• excitable
• excitation
• excitateur
• citer
• Latin excitō
• English excite

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 o p q r s Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
6. ^ a b c 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. 3, 273b
8. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ a b c d Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
10. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com