hésitation

Forms

hésitation f (plural hésitations)^[1] Old French esitation;^[2][3] Middle French hesitation from the 15th century.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin haesitātiō (“hesitation, uncertainty, stammering”), first as esitation.^[2][4][3] The Latin noun is formed on haesitō (“to hesitate”), the source of hésiter.^[3][5][6]

Littré compares Old Occitan heysitacio, Spanish hesitación and Italian esitazione.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found as esitation in a late 13th-century Nativité Notre-Dame, meaning the act of hesitating.^[2][4] The GLLF dates esitacion to about 1220, in Gautier de Coinci.^[5]

Semantic evolution

The modern form hesitation appears in the 15th century^[2][4] and is found in Montaigne.^[6][5] The word keeps both senses of the Latin: uncertainty and, from 1595, a halt in speech.^[4][2] The GLLF dates this second sense to 1671, in Pomey, and the wider sense “a pause showing indecision” to Stendhal.^[5]

Timeline

• late 13th century – Esitation in the Nativité Notre-Dame.^[2]
• 15th century – The form hesitation.^[2][3]
• 1595 – Montaigne uses it for a halt in speech.^[2][4]
• before 1842 – Stendhal uses it for a pause showing indecision.^[5]

Meanings

Noun

1. The fact of hesitating, indecision or uncertainty: elle a accepté sans la moindre hésitation.^[7][5]
2. A halt in action or speech that shows indecision or embarrassment: parler avec hésitation.^[7][6][2]

Related words

• hésiter
• hésitant
• Latin haesitātiō

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d e Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b c d e f Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
6. ^ a b c d Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
7. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert