Etymologically
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figure

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /fi.ɡyʁ/[1]

Forms

figure f (plural figures)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin figūra (“shape, form; image; figure of speech; manner”),[2][3][4][5][6] formed on the stem of fingō (“to shape in clay”), whose inherited French outcome is feindre.[3][7][8] The Petit Robert connects it with a root Proto-Indo-European *dʰeyǵʰ- (“to knead, shape”), also seen in Ancient Greek τεῖχος (teîkhos, “wall”) and English dough.[7]

Wiktionary treats it as inherited from Old French, which had borrowed it from Latin.[1] Cognate with Romanian figură, Old Occitan figura, Spanish figura and Italian figura.[7][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Sequence of Saint Eulalia (about 881) has In figure de colomb volat a ciel, “in the shape of a dove she flew to heaven”: the outward form of a being.[2][8]

Semantic evolution

The general sense “outward form, appearance” is now literary, as in le Chevalier à la Triste Figure, a calque of the Spanish name of Don Quixote; it also meant “behaviour” (about 1050) until the classical period, whence faire figure and faire bonne, mauvaise figure.[3] From the 12th century it named a drawing, then a portrait or statue (1269), a figure in arithmetic (1269–78), in geometry (1546) and in dance (1680).[3][2][9] Latin figura “sign, symbol” was taken up early (1121–34, par figure “allegorically”), and figures of speech belong to the same line.[2][3]

Specialized from “form”, the word was used from the mid-16th century of the face and of the air one has (1662, Molière), and, from the 18th century it replaced visage and face in everyday speech, Bloch and Wartburg note that the sense “face” spread over the whole Gallo-Romance area.[3][2][4] The sense “exemplary case” (about 1375) led to “remarkable person” (Montaigne, 1595).[2][3]

Timeline

  • c. 881 – “Outward form”, Sequence of Saint Eulalia.[2]
  • 1119 – The form of a word, Philippe de Thaon.[2]
  • 1121–34 – A drawn image, par figure “allegorically”, Philippe de Thaon.[2]
  • 1269–78 – “Statue”, and a numeral, in the Roman de la Rose.[2]
  • 1546 – A geometrical figure.[2]
  • 1595 – “Notable person”, Montaigne.[2]
  • 1662 – “Air, look”, Molière's Femmes savantes.[2]
  • 1680 – A figure in dancing, Richelet.[2]
  • 18th century – “Face”, Lesage's Gil Blas.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The face: se casser la figure, to fall flat, casser la figure à quelqu'un.[7][1][10]
  2. Look, countenance, faire bonne figure, to put on a brave face, faire figure de, to look like, pass for.[7][3]
  3. A person, a personality: une grande figure de l'histoire.[7][3]
  4. A representation of a person or thing in drawing, painting or sculpture; an illustration in a book, figure de proue, a figurehead.[7][1]
  5. (geometry) A figure, (dance, skating) a set series of movements.[2][7]
  6. (rhetoric) Figure de style: a figure of speech.[1][7]
  7. (cards) A court card.[7]
  8. Cas de figure: a scenario, a possible case.[1]

Word family

  • figurer
  • figuratif
  • figuration
  • figurant
  • figurine
  • défigurer
  • configurer

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p 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 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. ^ 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, 512a
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  8. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  9. ^ Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
  10. ^ Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse