frisson

Forms

frisson m (plural frissons)^[1] Old French friçon, feminine until the 16th century; the spelling frisson dates from the 16th century.^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French friçon, inherited from Late Latin frīctiō (“shivering”), a word for a fit of shivering recorded in Gregory of Tours.^[5][6][2][7] The TLFi and Bloch and Wartburg follow Ernout and Meillet in deriving it from Latin frīgeō (“to be cold”),^[5][3] and Wiktionary keeps it apart from the Classical Latin word for “rubbing”, the source of friction.^[1] Rey and the GLLF see instead the same word as the Classical one, linked to the verb for “to be cold” only by folk etymology.^[2][8] Littré notes that Du Cange took the word in this sense as standing for a form built on the verb for “to be cold”, which would explain why the Old French word was feminine.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded as friçons in Rashi's French glosses (second half of the 11th century), for the shivering before menstruation; about 1170 Marie de France uses it for the shivering before a bout of fever.^[5][2]

Semantic evolution

From the shivers of illness the word was soon applied to emotion: by about 1135 the Couronnement de Louis uses it for agitation, anguish or fear.^[5][8] It came to cover any thrill, pleasant or unpleasant, that runs through the body with a strong feeling.^[2][9] By analogy it names a light rippling movement, as of water, and the sound it makes (1839, Balzac).^[2][8] In 1859 it took the sense of a wave of emotion running through a group, as in Hugo's frisson nouveau, said of Baudelaire's poetry.^[2][8] The verb frissonner (1368) has followed the same path.^[2]

Timeline

• Late 11th century – Friçons appears in Rashi's glosses.^[5][2]
• c. 1135 – The Couronnement de Louis uses it for anguish or fear.^[5]
• c. 1170 – Marie de France uses it for the shivering before a fever.^[5]
• 1368 – The verb frissonner is recorded.^[2]
• 16th century – The word becomes masculine and is spelled frisson.^[2][4]
• 1839 – Balzac uses it for a rustling sound.^[2][8]
• 1859 – Hugo's frisson nouveau gives the sense “wave of emotion”.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A shiver: a brief, irregular trembling with a feeling of cold, from cold or the onset of a fever.^[9][5]
2. A thrill or shudder that goes with a strong emotion, pleasant or unpleasant: un frisson de peur.^[9][8]
3. A light rippling movement, or the rustle that goes with it: le frisson de l'eau.^[2][8]
4. (figurative) A wave of emotion running through a group.^[2][8]

Word family

• frissonner
• frissonnement
• frissonnant

Related words

• froid
• friction

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
4. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ 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
6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 3, 788b
7. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ a b c d e f g h Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
9. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert