fatiguer

Pronunciation

• IPA: /fa.ti.ɡe/^[1]

Forms

fatiguer^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin fatīgō (“to tire out; to harass, torment”),^[2][3][4][5] which in Latin first meant “to ride (an animal) to death”, then “to wear out”, and in imperial Latin “to pester”.^[3] It is probably derived from “fatis” “cleft, crack”, as in “ad fatim” “to bursting”, whence “affatim” “to satiety”.^[3][6]

Compare Old Occitan fatigar, Spanish fatigar and Italian faticare.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Aimé du Mont-Cassin's Histoire des Normands (early 14th century) has the reflexive, “to exhaust one's strength by long or hard effort”.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

The verb has always meant to reduce the strength of an organism, to subject it to hard effort, and, from 1549 it was also intransitive, “to tire”.^[3][8] Before 1660 Scarron used it for wearying by tedium, the Latin “to pester”, and in classical French it meant to wear down resistance (Molière, 1669) and to harass an enemy (Racine, 1678).^[2][3][8] In agriculture one fatigue a tree by letting it bear too much (1752) and the soil by working it over (1773), whence fatiguer la salade “to toss the salad” (1845).^[3][8] In engineering a beam or ship fatigue under excessive strain (1756), and a machine (1792).^[3]

The noun fatigue dates from the 14th century, fatigant from 1666–1668.^[3][4] In Savoy, Auvergne and Provence fatigué is a euphemism for “ill”.^[3]

Timeline

• Early 14th century – Se fatiguer in Aimé du Mont-Cassin.^[2]
• 14th century – Fatigue.^[4]
• 1470 – Infatigable.^[3]
• 1549 – Intransitive “to tire”.^[3]
• Before 1660 – “To weary”, in Scarron.^[2]
• 1756 – Of a beam or ship.^[3]
• 1845 – Fatiguer la salade.^[3]

Meanings

Verb

1. To tire, wear out: cette marche m'a fatigué, fatiguer les yeux.^[9][1]
2. To weary, annoy, bore: tu me fatigues avec tes questions.^[1][9]
3. (intransitive) To tire, flag; of a machine or structure, to labour, be under strain.^[1][10]
4. (reflexive) To tire oneself, (negative) to bother: il ne s'est pas fatigué.^[1][8]
5. (agriculture) To exhaust (soil, a tree); (familiar) fatiguer la salade: to toss the salad.^[9][8]

Word family

• fatigue
• fatigant
• fatigué
• infatigable

Related words

• Latin fatīgō

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e 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 Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 3, 434a
6. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, 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 Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
9. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
10. ^ Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)