ferveur

Forms

ferveur f (plural ferveurs)^[1] Old French fervor (late 12th century), refashioned into the present form in the 14th century.^[2][3] Middle French also had fervour and ferveur in the 14th century.^[4]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin fervor (“a boiling, heat, ardour”), used in Latin both literally and figuratively.^[5][2][6] The Old French form was fervor, refashioned into the present form in the 14th century.^[2] The Latin noun comes from the verb ferveō (“to boil”),^[2][6] which Rey connects with an Indo-European root meaning “to bubble, boil”.^[2]

Cognate with Occitan fervor, Spanish fervor and Italian fervore.^[4] The adjective fervent is a separate borrowing, from the Latin present participle fervēns, recorded about 1190.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found at the end of the 12th century in the Old French Job, in the phrase fervor de droiture, “ardour for righteousness”, with the sense of ardour or inner fire.^[5][4] The religious sense “zeal, devotion” appears at the same time in the French sermons of Saint Bernard: fervor de devotion.^[5][3]

Semantic evolution

French kept only the figurative senses of the Latin word, above all the religious one: the ardour of a devout soul.^[2][5] Middle French texts still used it of physical heat, as in Henri de Mondeville's surgery, which speaks of soothing the pain and fervour of a wound, and Oresme of the heat of youth.^[4] In the classical period it was specialised (1633, Corneille) for amorous passion.^[2][3]

In modern French it is any warm and eager enthusiasm, for a person, a cause or a task, as well as religious devotion.^[7][8] The English word fervor was taken from the Old French form in the mid-14th century.^[9]

Timeline

• Late 12th century – Fervor “ardour” appears in the Old French Job.^[5]
• Late 12th century – The sermons of Saint Bernard use it for religious zeal.^[5][3]
• 14th century – The form ferveur replaces fervor.^[2][3]
• 1492 – A by-form ferveté is found in a royal ordinance.^[4]
• 1633 – Corneille uses it for amorous passion.^[2][3]

Meanings

Noun

1. Warm religious devotion, the eager zeal of prayer and worship.^[7][5]
2. Lively enthusiasm or ardour in feeling or action: Elle défendait sa cause avec ferveur.^[7][8]
3. (classical) Amorous passion.^[3][2]

Related words

• fervent
• Latin fervor

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ a b c d e f g Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
4. ^ a b c d e Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
5. ^ a b c d e f g 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
6. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ a b Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
9. ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com