existence

Forms

existence f (plural existences)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Late Latin exsistentia (“existence”),^[2][3][4][5] from exsistō (“to come forth, appear; to exist”) (see exister),^[3][4] formed from ex- (“out of”) and sistō (“to set, be placed”), of the Indo-European root Proto-Indo-European *steh₂- (“to stand”) also behind stō.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Guillaume de Digulleville's Pèlerinage de vie humaine (1330) uses it for the fact of existing, reality.^[2]

Semantic evolution

Voltaire (1734), answering Pascal, uses it for life considered in its length and content: notre existence n'est point si malheureuse qu'on veut nous le faire accroire.^[2] Madame de Genlis (1795) has it for a way of life (déplorable existence) and for the fact of being real to an observer (l'existence de Célanire).^[2] In 20th-century philosophy it is opposed to essence (l'existence précède l'essence, Sartre).^[7] The verb exister is recorded from the 15th century and seems rare before the 17th.^[2][6]

Timeline

• 1330 – “Fact of existing”, Guillaume de Digulleville.^[2]
• 15th century – The verb exister.^[2]
• 1734 – “Life”, Voltaire.^[2]
• 1795 – “Way of life”, Madame de Genlis.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. existence, the fact of existing: l'existence de Dieu, (philosophy) existence as opposed to essence.^[7][4]
2. The fact of being present, real: constater l'existence d'un complot.^[4][2]
3. life, considered in its length or content: une existence heureuse, moyens d'existence.^[2][1]

Word family

• existentiel
• existentialisme
• coexistence

Related words

• exister

References

1. ^ a b c 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 3, 298b
6. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert