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;[3][2][4] 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 q 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 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. ^ 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