fixe

Forms

fixe (plural fixes)^[1] Old French fix (about 1265); the spelling fixe dates from the end of the 16th century.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin fīxus (“fixed, fastened, settled”),^[4][3][5][6] the past participle of fīgō (“to drive in, fasten”).^[4][3] Littré notes that Old French had the inherited fis “sure, certain”.^[7]

Cognate with Occitan fix, Spanish fijo, Portuguese fixo and Italian fisso.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

About 1265 Jean de Meun uses fix in alchemy, of a substance that does not volatilize.^[3][2][6] Bloch and Wartburg note that the word was rare before the 16th century.^[5]

Semantic evolution

In the 14th century it described what does not change position, in Oresme's estoiles fixes “fixed stars” (about 1362).^[4][3] It was used of the gaze from 1680, whence the military command fixe ! (1845).^[3][2]

From 1690 it was applied to what is settled once and for all, as in à date fixe, and so to what is regular, as in revenu fixe; the noun un fixe, a fixed salary, dates from 1844.^[3][2] The sense “lasting in a given state” (1835) appears in beau fixe, literal and figurative, and in idée fixe, an obsession (19th century).^[3]

Timeline

• c. 1265 – Jean de Meun uses fix in alchemy.^[3][2]
• c. 1362 – Oresme writes of estoiles fixes.^[4]
• End of the 16th century – The spelling fixe appears in Palissy.^[2]
• 1680 – Richelet records it of the gaze.^[2][3]
• 1690 – Furetière records it of what is settled and determined.^[2][3]
• 1835 – The Académie records it of a lasting state.^[2][3]
• 1844 – Fixe as a noun, “fixed income”.^[3]
• 1845 – The command fixe ! is recorded.^[3]

Meanings

Adjective

1. That does not move, fixed, stationary: un point fixe, sans domicile fixe (abbreviated SDF), of no fixed abode.^[8][4][9]
2. Of the eyes or gaze, staring at one point.^[8][9][7]
3. That does not change, lasting: couleur fixe, beau fixe, settled fine weather.^[8][9]
4. Settled precisely and once and for all: Nous dînons à heure fixe.^[8][9]
5. Idée fixe: an obsession.^[8][9][3]
6. Steady and regular: un revenu fixe.^[8][3]

Noun

1. The fixed part of a salary, as opposed to commission.^[8][4]
2. (by ellipsis) A landline telephone, as opposed to a mobile.^[1][9]
3. That which is fixed or invariable.^[4]

Interjection

1. Fixe !: a military command to stand to attention; also à vos rangs, fixe !^[4][9]

Word family

• fixer
• fixité

Usage notes

The Grand Robert's fixe 2 is a separate noun of drug slang, an injection of a drug, a fix (about 1974), from the American English noun fix, from the verb to fix.^[6][8]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d e f g h 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
5. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
6. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ a b c d e f g h Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ a b c d e f g Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)