geste

geste¹ gesture

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ʒɛst/^[1]

Forms

geste m (plural gestes)^[1] First written gest, geste from 1495, Commynes still used it as a feminine.^[2][3][4]

Etymology

The gesture is borrowed from Latin gestus (“bearing; movement of the body; mimicry”), an action noun of gerō (“to carry; to do”).^{[2][3][5][6][7]}

Earliest recorded meaning

In the Fet des Romains (about 1213) gest du corps is a way of carrying oneself; in 1495 the Miroir historial has Le geste de l'homme en tout acte doit estre gracieus (“a man's gesture in every act should be graceful”).^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

From the late 15th century it named movements of the body, voluntary or not, and, from 1662 a simply expressive movement.^[3] Figuratively it came to mean an act, as in faire un geste and un beau geste; in medicine one speaks of le geste qui sauve and of surgical gestes.^[3][4] Gesticuler (1578) was borrowed from Latin gesticulari, and gestuel (1937) was formed when the gesture began to be studied as a sign.^[3]

Timeline

• c. 1213 – Gest du corps in the Fet des Romains.^[2]
• 1495 – The form geste.^[2]
• 1578 – Gesticuler.^[3]
• 1662 – An expressive movement.^[3]
• 1937 – Langage gestuel.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. A gesture, a movement of the body, hands or head: s'exprimer par gestes.^[8][9]
2. A way of moving the hands to do something: un métier qui demande des gestes précis.^[9]
3. An act, a deed: faire un geste, un beau geste.^[3][4]
4. Joindre le geste à la parole: to suit the action to the word.^[8][1]

Word family

• gestuel
• gestualité

geste² epic deeds

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ʒɛst/^[1]

Forms

geste f (plural gestes)^[1]

Etymology

The epic geste is borrowed from Latin gesta (“deeds, exploits”), the neuter plural of the past participle of gerō (“to do”), taken as a feminine singular; in Medieval Latin “gesta” also meant a narrative or history, as in the titles of chronicles such as the “Gesta Francorum”.^{[3][5][6][10]} Wiktionary treats the Old French word as inherited, with a spelling pronunciation.^[1]

Compare Old Occitan gesta and Italian gesta.^[10]

Earliest recorded meaning

Rey and the Grand Robert date it to 1080; it named the epic poems telling the exploits of a hero or a family of heroes.^[3][6]

Semantic evolution

Bloch and Wartburg note that it also came to mean memorable deeds, still in use in the 17th century, whence faits et gestes (1615), and in the Middle Ages a group of epic traditions and the family whose deeds they told.^[5][10][11] Chanson de geste “poem of historical deeds”, a medieval phrase, was taken up again by 19th-century literary history.^[5]

Timeline

• 1080 – Geste, an epic narrative.^[3][6]
• 1615 – Faits et gestes.^[5]
• 19th century – Literary history revives chanson de geste.^[5]

Meanings

Noun

1. (literature) A cycle of medieval epic poems about the deeds of a hero, chanson de geste, one such poem.^[9][5]
2. Faits et gestes: doings, actions.^[5][1]
3. (Old French) The family or lineage of an epic hero.^[10][11]

Related words

• gérer
• gestion
• gesticuler
• Latin gestus

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e 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 i j k l m Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
5. ^ a b c d e f g h Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
6. ^ a b c d Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 4, 126b
8. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ a b c Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
10. ^ a b c d Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
11. ^ a b Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)