foncer

Forms

foncer^[1]

Etymology

It is derived from fons, fonz, the old forms of fond (“bottom”), with the verb ending -er.^[2][3][1][4] That noun and fonds go back to Latin fundus (“bottom; piece of land”).^[5][6]

The sense “to darken” comes from the idea that a dark shade looks sunk in compared with a light one.^[7][8][5] The intransitive sense “to rush at” is explained by Rey as an alteration of fondre (“to swoop”), and by Bloch and Wartburg as a 17th-century formation modelled on that verb's construction with ⟨sur⟩;^[7][5][8] it is linked to the phrase à fond.^[7] The TLFi gives the darkening sense a numbered article of its own, also derived from the noun.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in 1375 as a past participle, in an inventory: chaise fonsee de paille, “a chair with a straw seat”, that is, fitted with a bottom.^[2][7][3] Bloch and Wartburg, the GLLF and the Petit Robert date the verb to 1389.^[5][9][8]

Semantic evolution

The first sense, “to fit with a bottom”, was used of casks and chairs, and in cookery of lining a mould with pastry (1757) or a pan with bacon and vegetables (1802).^[2][7] Littré quotes Olivier de Serres: tonneaux foncés des deux bouts, “casks with a head at both ends”.^[10] From the bottom the verb passed to digging downwards: il fonse et cave une fosse profonde (1605, Le Loyer), and then to driving something down (1752), as with a stake (1890).^[2][7]

The colour sense, “to make a shade darker”, dates from 1740; its past participle foncé became a common adjective in 1690, the opposite of clair.^[7] The sense “to throw oneself at” appears in 1680, and, from it, in familiar French, “to go straight ahead very fast” (1866).^[7] From this energetic sense came fonceur (1914), a bold go-getter.^[7]

Timeline

• 1375 – Chaise fonsee de paille.^[2]
• 1605 – “To dig”, in Le Loyer.^[2]
• 1680 – “To charge, rush at”.^[7][8]
• 1690 – The adjective foncé “dark”.^[7][5]
• 1740 – “To make (a colour) darker”.^[7]
• 1757 – The pastry sense, in the Encyclopédie.^[2]
• 1866 – “To go very fast”.^[7]
• 1914 – The derivative fonceur.^[7]

Meanings

Verb

1. (technical) To fit a cask or a chair with a bottom.^[8][2]
2. (cooking) To line a mould or dish with pastry, bacon or vegetables: foncer un moule à tarte.^[8][2]
3. (technical) To dig or sink a shaft: foncer un puits.^[8][9]
4. To make a colour darker; intransitive, to darken: le ciel a foncé.^[8][1]
5. Foncer sur: to rush at, charge: le chien fonça sur le facteur.^[8][1]
6. (familiar) To go straight ahead very fast, tear along; to get a move on, go for it.^[8][1]

Word family

• foncé
• fonceur
• fonçage

Related words

• fond
• fonds
• enfoncer
• défoncer
• Latin fundus

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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
3. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 3, 870b
5. ^ a b c d e Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
6. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
10. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette