fondamental

Forms

fondamental (feminine fondamentale, masculine plural fondamentaux, feminine plural fondamentales)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Late Latin fundāmentālis (“forming the foundation of something”),^[2][3][4][5] a word of Christian Latin,^[2] from fundāmentum (“foundation”).^[5][4][1] The word is thus related to fondement.^[3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found before 1475 in the Chronique of Chastellain, in fondamental orgueil, meaning “forming the essential part of something”.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

The sense “basic, essential” has lasted into modern French.^[3] Montaigne used the word in 1580 in senses close to the modern ones,^[6] while the concrete sense “serving as the foundation of a building”, as in pierre fondamentale, is recorded by Furetière in 1690 and is now dated.^[6][2]

In music son fondamental (1701) and note fondamentale (1721) name the note on which a chord is built.^[3][2] In science recherche fondamentale (1960), research directed at the theory of a field, stands in contrast to applied research.^[3][2] The adjective gave fondamentalement, which first meant “down to the foundations” in architecture, and in the 20th century fondamentalisme and fondamentaliste.^[3]

Timeline

• before 1475 – Chastellain writes fondamental orgueil.^[2][3]
• 1580 – Montaigne uses it of the first and basic part of virtue.^[7][6]
• 1690 – Furetière records the sense “serving as the foundation of a building”.^[6]
• 1701 – Son fondamental in music.^[3]
• 1721 – Note fondamentale is recorded in the Dictionnaire de Trévoux.^[2][3]
• 1960 – Recherche fondamentale appears.^[2][3]

Meanings

Adjective

1. (dated) Serving as the foundation of a building: pierre fondamentale.^[2][7]
2. Serving as a basis, essential and decisive: les lois fondamentales de l'État.^[8][6][9]
3. Deep-seated, present before anything else: une méfiance fondamentale.^[9]
4. Recherche fondamentale: theoretical research, as opposed to applied research.^[9][3]
5. (music) Note fondamentale, or la fondamentale as a noun: the note on which a chord is built.^[9][3]

Noun

1. Les fondamentaux: the fundamentals, basic knowledge of a subject.^[9][1]

Word family

• fondamentalement
• fondamentalisme
• fondamentaliste

Related words

• fondement
• fond
• Latin fundāmentum

References

1. ^ a b c d 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 c d e f g h i j k l m Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
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 d e Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
7. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ a b c d e Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)