Etymologically
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façon

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /fa.sɔ̃/[1]

Forms

façon f (plural façons)[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French façon, inherited from Latin factiō (“a making; manner of doing”), accusative “factiōnem”, from the supine of faciō (“to do, make”) (see faire).[2][3][4][5][6][1] The learned borrowing faction is a doublet.[1][5] Littré allows that Latin faciēs (“face”) may have helped give Old French “façon” the sense “face, looks”, but rules it out as the source.[7] The sense “shaping, making” (1377) is taken by the TLFi as a noun formed on façonner.[2][8]

Cognate with Old Occitan faisso and Catalan facció.[4][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in Philippe de Thaon's Bestiaire (1121–1134), of the outward look of an animal.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

The sense “outward look, bearing” lived on in classical French, sometimes meaning elegance, and survives in the plural des façons “manners, fuss” and in sans-façon (1660).[3] From “manner” (1276) came “way of acting” (1578) and the phrases de façon que, à la façon de (1580), de façon à ce que (1839) and c'est une façon de parler (1798).[3][2]

Façon also meant an act (1260, males façons), then the working of a material (1377), the craftsman's workmanship and the labour of the soil in farming (1606).[3][2] Followed by a noun it means “imitation of” (1810: façon cuir).[3]

Timeline

  • 1121–1134 – Façon in Philippe de Thaon's Bestiaire.[2]
  • 12th century – Façonner, in Chrétien de Troyes.[4]
  • 1260 – Males façons, malfaçon.[2][4]
  • 1276 – “Manner”.[2]
  • 1377 – “Shaping, making”.[2]
  • 1580 – De façon que and à la façon de, in Montaigne.[2][3]
  • 1606 – Labour of the soil.[3]
  • 1810 – Façon “imitation of”.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A manner, way: de cette façon, à sa façon, de toute façon.[8][3]
  2. De façon à, de façon que: so as to, so that.[3]
  3. (plural) Manners; fuss: faire des façons, sans façon, informally.[3]
  4. The making of something, workmanship: la façon d'une robe, travailler à façon, with materials supplied.[8]
  5. Followed by a noun: imitation: façon cuir.[3]
  6. (agriculture) Working of the soil.[8][3]

Word family

  • façonner
  • malfaçon
  • contrefaçon
  • sans-façon

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 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c d Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  5. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 3, 359a
  7. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  8. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert