Etymologically
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faute

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Pronunciation

Forms

faute f (plural fautes)[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *fallita (“lack; failing”), the feminine noun use of “*fallitus”, which replaced classical falsus, past participle of fallō (“to deceive, (later) to be lacking”).[2][3][4][1][5] It ousted the older faille.[2] The same Latin verb gave faillir and falloir, Wiktionary calls “faute” a doublet of faillite.[6][7][1]

Cognate with Old Occitan falta, Catalan falta, Spanish falta, Portuguese falta and Old Italian falta; compare English fault.[4][8][1][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its first record, in Étienne de Fougères' Livre des manières (1174–78), has the sense of failing, a moral lapse.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

It first meant a failure to keep the rules of religion, whence la Faute, the sin of Adam and Eve, or of morality; it was used especially of sexual relations outside marriage and, in the 19th century, of a woman's seduction.[3] From 1538 it meant a breach of the rules of an art or discipline (faute d'orthographe), and faute de goût dates from 1665.[3][10] C'est ma faute is found in the mid-16th century.[3]

Like the Latin verb, it also meant lack, absence (Jean de Meun, 1275–80), a sense kept in sans faute “without fail” (Joinville, 1306), faute de “for want of” (1636) and ne pas se faire faute de “not to fail to”.[2][3][7] In sport it is a foul or a fault, and a sans-faute is a clear round, first in show jumping (1968).[1][3]

Timeline

  • 1174–78 – A moral failing, Étienne de Fougères.[2]
  • 1275–80 – “Lack”, Jean de Meun.[2]
  • 1306 – Sans faute, Joinville.[2]
  • 1538 – A breach of the rules of an art.[3]
  • 1636 – Faute de “for want of”.[3][7]
  • 1665 – Faute de goût.[3]
  • 1968 – Parcours sans faute.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A mistake, error: faute d'orthographe, faute de frappe.[1][7]
  2. A fault, misdeed, wrongdoing; responsibility, blame: c'est ma faute, prendre en faute.[1][10]
  3. (law) A wrong, a breach: faute grave.[1]
  4. (sports) A foul, a fault: double faute.[1]
  5. Faute de: for want of: faute de mieux, faute de temps, sans faute: without fail.[1][7]
  6. (dated) Lack: ne pas se faire faute de, not to hesitate to.[7][2]

Word family

  • fautif
  • fauter

Usage notes

The proverb faute avouée est à moitié pardonnée means “a fault confessed is half forgiven”.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b 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, 389b
  6. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  7. ^ a b c d e f Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  8. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  9. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
  10. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse