exempt

Forms

exempt (feminine exempte, masculine plural exempts, feminine plural exemptes)^[1] Old French exant (1260) and exent, which was the usual form in the 15th century;^[2][3][4][5] exempt from the 16th century.^[2][3][4][5]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin exemptus (“removed, freed”), the past participle of eximō (“to take out, remove, free”),^[6][2][7][1] a compound of ex- and emō, first “to take”, then “to buy”.^[2][8] Medieval Latin already had the adjective exemptus “free from the bishop's authority” in 1171–1172.^[6][2]

Cognate with Occitan exempt, Spanish exento and Portuguese isento.^[8]

The noun, an officer of the old regime, is the same word used as a noun:^[6][7][8] the officer was exempt from ordinary service.^[7][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

It first appears in 1260, in the Ménestrel de Reims, as exant;^[6][2] the Livre de jostice (about 1265) uses it in law of a person who is not under a given judge's authority.^[4][8]

Semantic evolution

As an adjective, always followed by de, it first described in law a person freed from a common charge or service.^[2] In the 16th century it came to mean “not subject to (a fault or tendency)” (about 1530, Marot), then “sheltered from” (1580, Montaigne), close to “without”.^[2][4] It is now said of things too, as income free of tax or a work free of errors.^[9][8]

The noun appears at the beginning of the 17th century: in 1617 d'Aubigné writes un ezent de gardes, a cavalry non-commissioned officer exempt from ordinary service who commanded in the absence of the captain and his lieutenants.^[6][2][7] From 1665 (Molière, L'Étourdi) it named a police officer in charge of a squad of guards, who made arrests;^[2][6] both senses vanished with the Revolution.^[7][2] The noun also meant a person freed from certain charges (1690, Furetière) and a churchman not under the ordinary jurisdiction of his bishop.^[6][2] The Anglo-Norman exempt is recorded from 1292.^[10]

Timeline

• 1260 – Exant appears in the Ménestrel de Reims.^[6][2]
• c. 1265 – The Livre de jostice uses it in law.^[4]
• 1292 – Anglo-Norman exempt is recorded.^[10]
• 1320 – The verb exempter is first found, as essenter.^[7][2]
• 15th century – The form exent is in use.^[2][3]
• c. 1530 – Marot uses it for “free from (a fault)”.^[2][4]
• 1580 – Montaigne uses it for “sheltered from”.^[2][4]
• 1617 – D'Aubigné writes un ezent de gardes, a cavalry officer.^[6][2]
• 1665 – Molière uses the noun of a police officer.^[2]
• 1690 – Furetière records the noun “person freed from certain charges”.^[6]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Exempt de: not subject to a charge or obligation, exempt: exempt de corvées, also of things, un revenu exempt d'impôts.^[9][11][8]
2. Exempt de: spared from some ill or trouble: une vie exempte de soucis.^[9][4]
3. Exempt de: free from a fault or tendency, devoid of it: exempt de vanité, also of things, un texte exempt de fautes.^[9][4][8]

Noun

1. (history) Under the old regime, a cavalry officer who commanded in the absence of the captain and lieutenants, being exempt from ordinary service.^[6][12]
2. (history) A police officer who made arrests.^[6][2]
3. (church) A churchman not subject to the ordinary jurisdiction of the bishop but to the Pope's.^[6]

Word family

• exempter

Related words

• exemption
• exemple
• rédemption
• préemption
• Latin eximō

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u 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 i Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
5. ^ a b Godefroy, Frédéric (1881–1902), Dictionnaire de l'ancienne langue française et de tous ses dialectes du IXe au XVe siècle, 10 vols., Paris: Vieweg / Bouillon
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m 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
7. ^ a b c d e f Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
8. ^ a b c d e f g Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
9. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
10. ^ a b Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
11. ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
12. ^ Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)