gésir

Forms

gésir (defective)^[1] A defective verb: only the present and imperfect indicative (je gis, il gît, nous gisons, je gisais) and the present participle gisant are used.^[2][3] Old French gesir.^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French gesir, inherited from Latin iaceō (“to lie, be stretched out”).^[4][1][5][6] The final ⟨-ir⟩ from Latin ⟨-ēre⟩ is regular after the palatalized ⟨c⟩, as in loisir, moisir and plaisir.^[1] The Latin verb is properly "to be in the state of a thing thrown", a resultative beside iaciō (“to throw”), from an Indo-European root also behind jeter;^[3][2] Littré notes Curtius's view that it is the intransitive of the verb for “to throw”, as pendeō is of pendō.^[7]

Cognate with Romanian zăcea, Italian giacere, Occitan jaçar, Catalan jaure, Spanish yacer and Portuguese jazer.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The verb first appears in the perfect joth "lay" in the Life of Saint Leger (second half of the 10th century): a terra joth "he lay on the ground".^[4][3]

Semantic evolution

From the sense "to lie", gésir meant especially "to lie in the coffin or the grave" from the Chanson de Roland on, whence the epitaph formula ci-gît (about 1170).^[4][3] In Old French gésir en or dans meant figuratively "to reside in, depend on" (about 1160),^[4][3] and gésir de meant "to give birth to" (about 1180), a sense linked with the noun gésine.^[4][3]

In classical usage it came to mean "to be found" of something buried or hidden (1668, La Fontaine).^[3][8] The verb is now literary and survives only in a few forms;^[3][2] the present participle gisant (1260) became a noun in 1911 for a recumbent tomb effigy.^[3][4] The proverbial c'est là que gît le lièvre means "that is the heart of the matter".^[2][7]

Timeline

• 950–1000 – The perfect joth appears in the Life of Saint Leger.^[4]
• c. 1100 – In the Chanson de Roland it means "to lie in the grave".^[4][3]
• c. 1160 – In Eneas it means "to reside in".^[4][3]
• c. 1170 – The epitaph formula ci-gît is recorded.^[3]
• c. 1180 – Gesir de "to give birth to" appears in Fierabras.^[4]
• 1260 – The participle gisant is used as an adjective.^[3]
• 1668 – La Fontaine uses it for "to be found" of hidden things.^[3][8]
• 1911 – Gisant becomes a noun for a tomb effigy.^[4][3]

Meanings

Verb

1. (literary) To lie stretched out without moving, especially when ill, wounded or dead: le soldat gisait près du mur.^[2][4][1]
2. (literary) Of things, to lie fallen or scattered.^[2][8]
3. (literary) To lie buried: ci-gît.^[2][1]
4. (literary) To be found, to reside, of something hidden: c'est là que gît le lièvre.^[2][7]
5. (nautical) Of a coast, to run in a direction.^[7]

Word family

• gisant
• gisement
• gîte
• ci-gît

Related words

• gésine
• jeter
• Latin iaceō

References

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