flatulence

Forms

flatulence f (plural flatulences)^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from French flatulent + -ence.^[2][1][3][4] The adjective was first used by Ambroise Paré in 1575 and was made from Latin flātus (“blowing, wind”) on the model of féculent,^[2] or with the Latin suffix -ulentus.^[1] Picoche places it in the family of enfler, from the Latin verb for blowing.^[5][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded in 1747, in James's Dictionnaire de médecine, as a medical term for gas in the body.^[2][4]

Semantic evolution

The word has stayed a medical term, like the adjective it comes from, which describes intestinal gas.^[7] Littré defines it as a collection of “winds”, that is, gases, in some part of the body.^[8] In literary use it is rarely applied figuratively to a person's character.^[2]

Timeline

• 1575 – Ambroise Paré uses the adjective flatulent.^[2]
• 1747 – Flatulence appears in James's Dictionnaire de médecine.^[2][4]

Meanings

Noun

1. (medicine) An excessive build-up of gas in the stomach or intestines, causing bloating and sometimes passed out of the body.^[2][9][10]
2. (figurative, literary, rare) The character of a person called flatulent in the figurative sense.^[2]

Related words

• flatulent
• flatueux
• flatuosité
• enfler
• Latin flātus

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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
3. ^ 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. ^ Picoche, Jacqueline (1991), Dictionnaire étymologique du français, Paris: Le Robert (Les Usuels du Robert)
6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 3, 611b
7. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
9. ^ Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
10. ^ Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)