forteresse

Forms

forteresse f (plural forteresses)^[1] Old French forterece, forteresce and fortelece; the spelling forteresse dates from the 14th century.^[2][3][4][5] Anglo-Norman also had fortelesce and fortresse.^[6]

Etymology

It is formed from French fort + -eresse, from the adjective in the sense “fortified”.^[7][8][1][9] Medieval Latin had fortalicia, fortaricia and other variants from 1119.^[7] Bloch and Wartburg allow that it may go back to a form Vulgar Latin *fortaricia, beside Old Occitan fortareza and fortaleza;^[10] the Grand Robert and the GLLF derive it from that Vulgar Latin form, built on Latin fortis (“strong”).^[5][2] Littré explains the forms in ⟨l⟩ and ⟨r⟩ as two forms of the suffix.^[3]

Cognate with Catalan fortalesa, Spanish fortaleza and Italian fortezza.^[3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in the Roman d'Enéas (about 1160) for a fortified place.^[7] The Grand Robert and the GLLF date that text to about 1130.^[5][2]

Semantic evolution

From the fortified place, which could defend a town or a whole region, the word passed to a place of safety or a refuge (Calvin, 1541) and to anything that resists from outside.^[7][8][11] The romantic period used it for a castle serving as a prison (Mme de Staël, 1810).^[7][8] Forteresse volante (about 1943) translates the English flying fortress, the name of an American heavy bomber.^[7][8][11]

In the 13th century the noun fort arose beside it in the same sense.^[8] English borrowed the Old French word as fortress in the early 14th century.^[12]

Timeline

• c. 1160 – It appears in the Roman d'Enéas.^[7]
• early 14th century – English borrows it as fortress.^[12]
• 14th century – The spelling forteresse replaces forterece.^[2]
• 1541 – Calvin uses it of a refuge.^[7][8]
• before 1559 – Du Bellay uses it of a support or recourse.^[13][2]
• 1810 – Mme de Staël uses it of a castle used as a prison.^[7][8]
• c. 1943 – Forteresse volante is calqued on English.^[7][8]

Meanings

Noun

1. A fortress: a fortified place defending a town or region.^[7][11]
2. A fort or citadel used as a state prison.^[11][2]
3. (figurative) Something that resists attack or influence from outside: une forteresse d'habitudes.^[11]
4. Forteresse volante: a heavy bomber of the United States in the Second World War.^[11][7]

Related words

• fort
• contrefort
• Latin fortis
• English fortress

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
3. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
4. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
5. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l 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
8. ^ a b c d e f g h Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 3, 733a
10. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
11. ^ a b c d e f Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
12. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
13. ^ Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF