gaîté

Forms

gaîté f (plural gaîtés)^[1] Also spelled gaieté (and gaité), the spelling under which the Grand Robert, the Petit Robert and the Académie enter the word.^[2][3][4][1] The Académie wrote gaieté in 1694–1762 and again in 1932, but gaîté in its editions of 1798–1878.^[5] Old French waited;^[5] Middle French gayeté.^[5]

Etymology

It is formed from French gai + -té.^[5][1][6] The adjective is perhaps from Old Occitan gai (“lively, merry”), a word of the troubadours;^[5][7] Bloch and Wartburg trace that to Gothic *gāheis, matching Old High German gāhi (“impetuous”).^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The spelling waited, in a gloss on Ezekiel from the end of the 11th century, meant “unruly passion”;^[5][6] the sense “cheerful mood” is found about 1150 in the Roman de Thèbes.^[5]

Semantic evolution

The noun followed the senses of gai.^[6] In 1309 de gayeté meant “deliberately”, and in 1549 Du Bellay has de gayeté de cœur, “of one's own free will, willingly”, still current.^[5][6] In the plural it named cheerful acts, sayings or pieces: Les Gayetez is the title of a book of 1554, and Mme de Sévigné uses gaietés for merry acts in 1676.^[5] The plural is also used ironically of tiresome things: les gaietés de l'administration.^[3]

Timeline

• end of the 11th century – Waited “unruly passion” appears in a gloss on Ezekiel.^[5]
• c. 1150 – The sense “cheerful mood” is found in the Roman de Thèbes.^[5]
• 1309 – De gayeté “deliberately” is recorded.^[5][6]
• 1549 – Du Bellay writes de gayeté de cœur.^[5][6]
• 1554 – Les Gayetez is used as a title by Olivier de Magny.^[5]
• 1676 – Mme de Sévigné uses the plural for merry acts.^[5]
• 1798 – The Académie adopts the spelling gaîté, which it keeps until 1878.^[5]

Meanings

Noun

1. cheerfulness, gaiety: a merry, good-humoured mood, as in Il a retrouvé sa gaîté après les vacances.^[3][8][1]
2. The cheerful character of something: the gaiety of a party or a room.^[3][8]
3. (usually plural) A merry act, saying or joke; ironically, the tiresome side of something.^[3][4]
4. De gaieté de cœur: willingly, of one's own accord, often in negative sentences.^[3][8][5]

Related words

• gai
• égayer

Usage notes

The dictionaries give gaieté as the main spelling and gaîté as a variant; the Académie changed between the two over its editions.^[2][3][5] Wiktionary also lists gaité.^[1]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ a b c d e f g Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b Académie française (1992–2024), Dictionnaire de l'Académie française, 9th ed., Paris: Académie française / Fayard / Imprimerie nationale
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r 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. ^ a b c d e f Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
8. ^ a b c Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)