hectare

Forms

hectare m (plural hectares)^[1]

Etymology

It is a compound from French hecto- + are, made for the metric system.^[2][3][4][5] Rey takes hecto- from the Greek word for “hundred”,^[6] and are was coined by decree of the Convention from Latin ārea (“surface”).^[7][6][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in 1795 in La Feuille du cultivateur, as a measure of surface of a hundred ares.^[2]

Semantic evolution

Rey dates the word from 1794, Bloch and Wartburg from 1798.^[6][7] Of the compounds of are made for the metric system, among them centiare and the unused déciare, only hectare passed into everyday speech, because it was used in land transactions and as a geographical unit.^[6]

English borrowed it in 1817.^[9]

Timeline

• 1795 – La Feuille du cultivateur uses it.^[2]
• 1795 – The Bulletin des lois records it.^[5]
• 1817 – English borrows the word.^[9]

Meanings

Noun

1. A hectare, a unit of land area equal to a hundred ares or ten thousand square metres (symbol ha): une ferme de cinquante hectares, un rendement à l'hectare.^{[4][2][5][10]}

Related words

• are
• centiare
• aire
• Latin ārea

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d 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. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
6. ^ a b c d 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. ^ Picoche, Jacqueline (1991), Dictionnaire étymologique du français, Paris: Le Robert (Les Usuels du Robert)
9. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
10. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette