fils

Pronunciation

• IPA: /fis/^[1]
• IPA (Quebec): /fɪs/^[1]
• IPA (archaic): /fi/^[1]

Forms

fils m (invariable)^[1] Old French subject case fils, fiz, object case fil, Picard fieu.^[2][3][4] The s is pronounced (/fis/); the older pronunciation /fi/ lasted until the 19th century.^[5][1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French fils, inherited from Latin fīlius (“son, child”).^{[6][2][4][7][1]} The modern form is the Old French subject case, kept because it was often used as a vocative, and probably also to avoid confusion with fil “thread”.^[6][4]

Latin “fīlius”, like fēcundus, goes back to an Indo-European root “*dhē-” “to suck”; it first meant “nursling” and replaced the old Indo-European word for “son”.^[2][8][3] Cognate with Romanian fiu, Italian figlio, Occitan filh, Catalan fill, Spanish hijo and Portuguese filho.^[8][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in the second half of the 10th century in the Vie de saint Léger, for a male child considered in relation to his parents; the Passion of Clermont (late 10th century) has fils Deu, the Son of God.^[6][2]

Semantic evolution

In the early 12th century it also meant descendants, as in li fil des humes “the sons of men” (Oxford Psalter).^[6][2] From about 1196 it was used for any boy, without displacing garçon; it survives as a form of address (mon fils !), especially in the south of France.^[2][10]

Fils de famille dates from 1606, fils à papa is more recent.^[2] The old pronunciation /fi/ gave insults such as fi de garce.^[2] The diminutive fiston dates from 1585, beau-fils from 1468 and petit-fils from the 13th century.^[2]

Timeline

• 2nd half of the 10th century – Fils in the Vie de saint Léger.^[6]
• Late 10th century – Fils Deu in the Passion of Clermont.^[6]
• Early 12th century – Li fil des humes, descendants.^[6]
• 13th century – Petit-fils.^[2]
• 1468 – Beau-fils.^[2]
• 1585 – Fiston.^[2]
• 1606 – Fils de famille.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A son: il a deux fils, fils unique.^[8][1]
2. After a surname: junior: Dumas fils.^[8][1]
3. (literary) A descendant: les fils des Gaulois; a native: un fils du pays.^[11]
4. Le Fils: the Son, the second person of the Trinity, le Fils de l'homme.^[1][2]
5. (form of address) Mon fils: my boy.^[2]

Related words

• fille
• filial
• fiston
• Latin fīlius

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
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. ^ 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
7. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 3, 521a
8. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
10. ^ Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
11. ^ Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)