fleurir

Forms

fleurir^[1] Old French florir; the form fleurir dates from the 13th century.^[2][3][1] In the senses "to prosper" the imperfect florissait and the participle florissant are used.^[4][2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle French fleurir, inherited from Old French florir, inherited from Vulgar Latin flōriō, from flōreō (“to bloom, flourish”), a derivative of flōs (“flower”).^{[1][5][4][6][7]} The Middle French form is a variant of the Old French form with the vowel remade after fleur.^[5][1][2] The Vulgar Latin form is recorded in the Thesaurus Linguae Latinae, according to the TLFi.^[5]

Cognate with Italian fiorire, Old Occitan florir, Catalan florir and Spanish florecer.^[8][4][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in the participle in barbe flurie "white beard", the traditional epithet of Charlemagne in the Chanson de Roland (about 1100).^[5][2][9]

Semantic evolution

The sense "to be in flower", of trees, is recorded about 1165, and at the same time a figurative "to flourish", of learning.^[5][2] The transitive "to adorn" appears in sarmons floris (1180–90), and style fleuri in 1680.^[5][2] Richelet recorded the jocular sense "to come out in spots or pimples" in 1680.^[10][3]

The old florir became rare from the late 16th century and survives in the sense "to prosper" only in archaizing use, mainly through the adjective florissant (1530).^[2][4]

Timeline

• c. 1100 – Barbe flurie appears in the Chanson de Roland.^[5]
• c. 1120 – Refleurir is recorded.^[2]
• c. 1165 – Benoît de Sainte-Maure uses it of trees in flower, and figuratively.^[5]
• 1180–1190 – Alexandre de Paris uses it for "to adorn".^[5]
• 13th century – The form fleurir replaces florir.^[2]
• 14th century – Défleurir is recorded.^[4][2]
• 1680 – Richelet records style fleuri and the sense "to break out in spots".^[2][10]

Meanings

Verb

1. (intransitive) Of a plant, to produce flowers, to bloom; of a flower, to open.^[10][5][1]
2. (intransitive, humorous) To become covered with hairs or pimples.^[10]
3. (intransitive, figurative) To appear and develop like a flower, to flourish.^[10][1]
4. (transitive) To adorn with flowers: fleurir une table.^[9][10]

Word family

• défleurir
• fleurissement
• refleurir

Related words

• fleur
• florissant
• Latin flōreō

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g 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 Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
4. ^ a b c d e Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j 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
6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 3, 628a
7. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
9. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
10. ^ a b c d e f Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert