Etymologically
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fils

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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]

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)