figer

Forms

figer^[1] Old French fegier (12th century), then figier and figer from the 13th century;^[2][3][4] feger is still usual in the dialects of the west.^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French fegier, inherited from Vulgar Latin *feticō (“to take on the look of liver”), from *feticum (“liver”), an alteration of Latin ficātum (“liver”).^[5][3][2][6] The Latin word became *fecatum and then the form above, with the consonants c and t swapped and the suffix replaced.^[5] The verb was Norman at first.^[5] The form with /i/ may be due to Picard fie (“liver”).^[5][2] The Latin noun first meant the liver of a goose fattened on figs, from fīcus (“fig”).^[4]

P. Guiraud proposed the reverse: the noun foie would come from the verb, which would continue a popular Vulgar Latin *figicō built on fīgō (“to fix”).^[3][7] Littré had also connected it with Medieval Latin figēre (“to end”).^[8]

The word has no counterpart in the other Romance languages.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Fegier is recorded in the 12th century meaning “to curdle (blood)”.^[3][4] The TLFi's first dated example is from about 1225, in the Histoire de Guillaume le Maréchal.^[5]

Semantic evolution

From “to curdle (blood)” the verb came to mean “to thicken a fatty liquid” (about 1225), as cold does with oil or grease.^[3][4] By extension it took the sense “to make motionless”: reflexive se figer “to become completely still” is used by Montaigne in 1592, and the transitive use is found in Théophile Gautier in 1858.^[5][3][4] The participle figé “frozen, petrified” is recorded in 1542.^[3]

Figer le sang “to fill with terror” keeps the oldest sense in a figurative phrase.^[5][9]

Timeline

• 12th century – Fegier “to curdle (blood)” is recorded.^[3][4]
• c. 1225 – Fegier in the Histoire de Guillaume le Maréchal; the form figer and the sense “thicken a fatty liquid” appear in the 13th century.^[5][3][4]
• 1542 – Figé is used for “immobilized, petrified”.^[3]
• 1549 – The derivative figement is recorded by Estienne.^[5][3]
• 1592 – Montaigne uses se figer for becoming completely still.^[5][3]
• 1858 – Théophile Gautier uses the transitive verb for making someone motionless.^[4][3]

Meanings

Verb

1. To coagulate, to curdle (blood).^[9][5]
2. To thicken or solidify a fatty liquid, as cold does: oil, grease, a sauce; also reflexive se figer.^[9][8][5]
3. Figer le sang: to fill with terror.^[9][5]
4. (figurative) To make motionless, to freeze (with fear or astonishment); reflexive se figer, to stiffen, freeze.^[9][5][1]
5. To fix in an unchanging form.^[1]

Word family

• figement

Related words

• foie
• Latin ficātum

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
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 e f g h i Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n 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. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 3, 491a
7. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
9. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert