figurer

Forms

figurer^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin figūrō (“to form, shape; to picture, imagine; to adorn with figures of speech”), from figūra (“shape, form”).^{[2][3][4][1][5]} Wiktionary compares the reflexive use with Italian figurarsi.^[1]

Compare Occitan figurar and Spanish figurar.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in the first third of the 12th century, in Albéric de Pisançon's Alexandre: beyn figurad “well made”, from the sense “to give shape to, fashion”.^[7] The Grand Robert dates the verb to the 11th century, and the Petit Robert glosses its first sense as “to create”.^[3][8]

Semantic evolution

The sense “to shape, give form to” lasted until the 17th century.^[2] The verb meant “to represent in visible form” by drawing or sculpture from about 1260,^[7][2] and “to symbolize” from 1258;^[7] the participle figuré “expressed in figures, allegorical” appears about 1200, and langage figuré in Amyot (1572).^[7][2] To represent something to the imagination (about 1360, Froissart) has died out, but the reflexive se figurer “to picture to oneself” (1572, Amyot) and “to believe wrongly” (Corneille, 1650–1651) is still in use, as is figurez-vous (1690).^[2][7]

Used intransitively, the verb meant “to cut a figure, play a part” beside someone great (1694, La Bruyère); today it means the opposite, “to play a minor part” (1865), as does the derivative figurant (1756, opera).^[2][7] Figurer sur une liste “to appear on a list” dates from 1827.^[2]

Timeline

• Early 12th century – Beyn figurad “well made”, in Albéric de Pisançon.^[7]
• c. 1200 – Figuré “allegorical”.^[7]
• 1258 – “To symbolize”.^[7]
• c. 1260 – “To represent by an image”.^[7]
• 1572 – Se figurer “to picture to oneself”, and langage figuré, in Amyot.^[7]
• 1650–1651 – Se figurer “to believe wrongly”, in Corneille.^[7][9]
• 1694 – Intransitive “to cut a figure”, in La Bruyère.^[7]
• 1756 – Figurant, in the Encyclopédie.^[7]
• 1827 – Figurer sur une liste.^[2]

Meanings

Verb

1. To represent in a visible form, by drawing, painting or sculpture; to show in a simplified or conventional way: figurer une rivière par un trait bleu.^[8][4]
2. To symbolize, stand for: la colombe figure la paix.^[8][6]
3. (intransitive) To appear, be found (in a list, a document, a group): son nom ne figure pas dans l'annuaire.^[1][2]
4. (intransitive, theatre) To play a minor part, to be an extra.^[2][7]
5. Se figurer: to imagine, picture to oneself; to believe, wrongly: il se figure qu'on l'admire.^[1][8][6]
6. Figure-toi, figurez-vous: just imagine.^[2]
7. (obsolete) To give a shape or form to.^[7][4]

Word family

• figurant
• figuré
• figurable

Related words

• figure
• figuration
• figuratif
• Latin figūrō

References

1. ^ a b c d e f 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 3, 513a
6. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
7. ^ 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
8. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF