Etymologically
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fusion

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 17 October 2026 at 21:01. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /fy.zjɔ̃/[1]

Forms

fusion f (plural fusions)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin fūsiō (“a pouring out, (Late Latin) melting of metals”),[2][3][4][5] from fūsum, the supine of fundō (“to pour; to melt”), the source of fondre.[3][6] It is a doublet of the inherited foison.[1][3]

The sense “nuclear fusion” follows English, where “atom fusion” is recorded in 1947.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Jean Martin's translation of Vitruvius (1547) has it once in the Latin sense “diffusion, scattering” (fusio stellarum).[2][3]

Semantic evolution

Bodin (1578) used it for the melting of metals, the passage of a solid to the liquid state under heat, and the word also named the state of a melted body (métal en fusion).[2][3] Furetière (1690) records the sense “dissolution in a liquid”.[2] By metaphor it came to mean a close union (Mercier, 1801, Madame de Staël), the merger of companies (1853, Labiche) and, in linguistics, the fusion of elements (1943).[2][6][3] Fusion nucléaire dates from the 1950s (1954–1956).[3][2]

The verb fusionner (1802) is used only figuratively, and fusionnel (1921), after English fusional, is common in psychology.[3]

Timeline

  • 1547 – “Diffusion”, in Jean Martin.[2]
  • 1578 – “Melting”, in Bodin.[2]
  • 1690 – “Dissolution”, in Furetière.[2]
  • 1801 – “Close union”, in Mercier.[2]
  • 1853 – A merger of companies, in Labiche.[2]
  • 1956 – Fusion nucléaire.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Melting, the passage from solid to liquid: point de fusion, en fusion: molten.[7][8]
  2. (physics) Nuclear fusion.[7][1]
  3. A merger, union: la fusion de deux sociétés, la fusion des partis.[9][2]
  4. A blending, mixture: fusion des cultures.[1][6]
  5. (biology) Fusion of chromosomes or nuclei.[7]

Word family

  • fusionner
  • fusionner
  • fusionnel
  • surfusion
  • fondre
  • foison
  • Latin fūsiō
  • English fusion

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 3, 914a
  6. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  7. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  8. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  9. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette