exhalaison

Forms

exhalaison f (plural exhalaisons)^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from French exhaler + -aison.^[2][1][3] The Grand Robert, the Petit Robert and the DHLF describe it as a frenchified variant of exhalation,^[4][5][6] which was borrowed from Latin exhālātiō and first appears as exalacion in Oresme in 1361.^[6] The verb exhaler is from Latin exhālō (“to breathe out”).^[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLFi's first record is in an alchemical poem, the Sommaire philosophique attributed to Nicolas Flamel, dated from its first printed edition of 1561.^[2][6] Littré quotes an alchemical treatise of the 14th century: Une exhalaison venimeuse, Mal odorante et maligneuse (“a venomous exhalation, foul-smelling and malignant”),^[7] and Bloch and Wartburg, the Grand Robert and the GLLF also date the word to the 14th century.^[3][4][8]

Semantic evolution

From the vapours of alchemy the word passed to any gas or smell given off by a body or a place, pleasant as well as foul.^[5][8][9] Baudelaire's carrion opens Son ventre plein d'exhalaisons (“its belly full of exhalations”).^[8] It is close in sense to émanation and effluve.^[8][6]

Timeline

• 14th century – The date given by Bloch and Wartburg, the Grand Robert and the GLLF.^[3][4][8]
• 1561 – First printed edition of the Sommaire philosophique, the TLFi's first record.^[2][6]

Meanings

Noun

1. A gas, vapour or smell given off by a body or a place: les exhalaisons d'un marais.^[5][9][8]

Related words

• exhaler
• exhalation
• inhaler
• Latin exhālātiō

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d 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 Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
4. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ a b c d e Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ a b c d e f Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
9. ^ a b Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)