Etymologically
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expression

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ɛk.spʁɛ.sjɔ̃/[1]
  • IPA: /ɛk.spʁe.sjɔ̃/[1]
  • IPA: /ɛs.pʁe.sjɔ̃/[1]

Forms

expression f (plural expressions)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin expressiō (“a pressing out, (Late Latin) expression of thought, vivid description”), derived from expressum, the supine of exprimō (“to press out; to express”) (see exprimer).[2][3][4][5][6] The Latin verb is formed from ex- and premō (“to press”).[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Henri de Mondeville's Chirurgie (1314) uses it in medicine for the act of pressing something out;[2][3][6] Paré speaks of expression des mammelles to draw out milk.[2][3][6]

Semantic evolution

The concrete sense survives only as a technical term.[3][2] Froissart (about 1360) has the act of expressing something, and in 1547 it is the manner of expressing oneself; from 1656 (Pascal) it names a turn of phrase in the written or spoken language.[3][5][2]

In the classical period it took further uses: in mathematics, a formula expressing a value (1674); the expression of feelings through art (1669, Molière); and that by which someone or something shows itself (1694, Bossuet).[3][5] Réduire à sa plus simple expression is in de Jouy (1812) and Balzac (1834).[3][8] In linguistics it is one of the essential functions of signs, opposed to communication, and in semantics it is opposed to content.[3] expressif (1483; in its modern sense 1680) and liberté d'expression belong to the same family.[3][7]

Timeline

  • 1314 – “Pressing out”, in Henri de Mondeville.[2][3]
  • c. 1360 – The act of expressing, in Froissart.[5][4]
  • 1547 – A manner of expressing oneself.[2][3]
  • 1656 – A turn of phrase, in Pascal.[3][5]
  • 1669 – Expression in art, in Molière.[3]
  • 1674 – A mathematical expression, in Malebranche.[3][5]
  • 1812 – Réduire à sa plus simple expression.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Expression, the act or manner of expressing a thought or feeling: liberté d'expression.[7][1]
  2. A phrase, turn of phrase, idiom: expression figurée, une expression toute faite.[3][7]
  3. The look or tone that reveals a feeling.[5][7]
  4. Expressiveness in art.[3][5]
  5. (mathematics) A formula representing a value: expression algébrique, réduire à sa plus simple expression, to reduce to its simplest form.[3][8]
  6. A manifestation, embodiment of something.[2][3]
  7. (technical) The pressing out of a liquid.[2][5]

Word family

  • expressif
  • inexpressif
  • expressivité

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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 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
  6. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  7. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  8. ^ a b Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF