gladiateur

Forms

gladiateur m (plural gladiateurs, feminine gladiatrice or gladiateure)^[1] First written gladiator (13th century); the form gladiateur is a remaking found in 1580, in Montaigne.^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin gladiātor (“gladiator, swordsman”).^[5][6][1] The Latin word is derived from gladius (“sword”),^[5][7] which Rey thinks probably entered Latin with the Celtic invasions, like carrus (“wagon”).^[2] In Latin the word was also an insult, “cut-throat, hired swordsman”.^[2][4] The Latin noun for “sword” is also the source of glaive.^[7][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded at the end of the 13th century, in the Latin form gladiator, in a life of Saint Hyrenei cited by Godefroy's supplement, naming the fighters of the Roman games.^[5][4]

Semantic evolution

The word has always named the armed men who fought one another or wild beasts in the Roman circus.^[2][5] The French form gladiateur is found from 1580, in Montaigne.^[3][2] In the classical period, from 1646 (Retz), it also meant a duellist, a man fond of duels who would fight on another's behalf; this sense is now dated or literary.^[2][4][7] A feminine gladiatrice, “woman who fights with the sword”, is recorded from before 1650 to the 18th century.^[2]

Timeline

• Late 13th century – Gladiator appears in the Vie de saint Hyrenei.^[5]
• 1580 – Montaigne uses the form gladiateur.^[3][4][7]
• 1646 – Retz uses it for a duellist.^[4][2]
• Before 1650 – The feminine gladiatrice is recorded.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. (Roman antiquity) A gladiator, a man who fought armed in the games of the Roman circus, against other men or wild beasts.^[8][9][5]
2. (dated, literary) A duellist, a man fond of fighting duels, sometimes for others.^[4][7]

Related words

• gladiatrice
• glaive
• Latin gladiātor
• Latin gladius

Usage notes

The feminine, gladiatrice, is rare.^[8][2]

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 Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d e f g 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 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. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
7. ^ a b c d e Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)