glossaire

Forms

glossaire m (plural glossaires)^[1] First spelled glosaire (1585).^[2][3] The spelling with ⟨ss⟩ appears in 1666.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle French glosaire, borrowed from Latin glōssārium (“dictionary explaining rare or old words”).^[2][1][3] The Latin variant glōsārium accounts for the early spelling with one ⟨s⟩, and the form with ⟨ss⟩ is a remaking after the Latin.^[2][4][3] The Latin word comes from glōssa, from Ancient Greek γλῶσσα (glôssa, “tongue, obscure word”).^[1][5] It is related to glose, a link still felt by speakers.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Cholières uses glosaire about 1585 for a collection of glosses.^[2][6]

Semantic evolution

It kept the Latin sense of a dictionary explaining old or obscure words, as in Du Cange's glossary of Medieval Latin.^[3][7][5] From 1835 it was also used for the lexicon of a dialect or patois,^[3][6] and at the end of the 19th century for a short list of an author's words at the end of an edition.^[6] It later named the vocabulary of a specialized field; a glossary is selective and explains briefly, unlike a vocabulaire or a dictionnaire.^[3][7]

Timeline

• 1585 – Glosaire “collection of glosses” appears in Cholières.^[2]
• 1666 – The spelling glossaire is found in the Journal des savants.^[2][3]
• 1680 – Richelet records glossaire.^[8][6]
• 1835 – The Académie records the sense “lexicon of a dialect”.^[6][3]

Meanings

Noun

1. A dictionary explaining the old, rare or obscure words of a language.^[2][7][5]
2. A lexicon of a living language, especially of a dialect or patois.^[7][6]
3. A glossary of a specialized field, or a list of difficult words at the end of a book: un glossaire de botanique.^[7][6]

Related words

• glose
• gloser
• Latin glōssārium
• English glossary

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h 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 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. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
6. ^ 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
7. ^ a b c d e 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