hiérarchie

Forms

hiérarchie f (plural hiérarchies)^[1] Gerarchie (early 14th century, 1332), ierarchie (1372, Corbichon); the spelling hiérarchie from 1545 (Calvin).^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Medieval Latin hierarchia, a word of the Church, recorded from the 9th century,^[2][3] which is from Ancient Greek ἱεραρχία (hierarkhía, “government of sacred things”).^[3] The Greek word belongs to the language of the Church (the Pseudo-Dionysius, late 5th to early 6th century), whose writings were put into Latin by John Scotus Eriugena in the mid-9th century.^[2] It is formed from ἱερός (hierós, “sacred”) and ἀρχή (arkhḗ, “rule, command”);^[3][5][6] the TLFi derives it from ἱεράρχης (hierárkhēs, “hierarch”).^[2]

The present spelling is an etymological refashioning (1545) of gerarchie, and the pronunciation with ⟨ge-⟩ lasted until the end of the 17th century.^[3] Cognate with Occitan ierarchia, Spanish gerarquia, Portuguese jerarquia and Italian gerarchia.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded at the beginning of the 14th century as gerarchie in a life of Saint Denis, as a theological term for the order and ranking of the choirs of angels.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

About 1389 Philippe de Mézières used it both for the ranks of the clergy and, by extension, for the order of ranks and powers in society.^[2][3] Chastellain, in the 15th century, called three grades of the Burgundian court's attendants les trois gerarcies.^[6] Calvin wrote hiérarchie céleste and hiérarchie for the Church's orders in 1545.^[2]

The sense “classification by a scale of value or importance” is recorded in 1784 in Rivarol;^[2][3] Bloch and Wartburg date the figurative sense to 1808.^[5] The phrase hiérarchie militaire appears in the mid-19th century (1861, Sainte-Beuve).^[3][4] English hierarchy came from the Old French ierarchie in the late 14th century.^[7]

Timeline

• Early 14th century – Gerarchie “order of the angels” in a life of Saint Denis.^[2]
• 1332 – Gerarchie is recorded again.^[5][3]
• 1372 – Corbichon writes ierarchie.^[4]
• c. 1389 – Philippe de Mézières uses it of the clergy and of society.^[2][3]
• 1545 – Calvin writes hiérarchie.^[2][3]
• 1784 – Rivarol uses it for a scale of values.^[2][3]
• 1834 – Balzac uses the verb hiérarchiser.^[3]
• 1861 – Hiérarchie militaire in Sainte-Beuve.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. (religion) The order and ranking of the choirs of angels; also the grades of the clergy: hiérarchie céleste.^[8][2]
2. An organisation in which each member stands in a rising scale of ranks or powers: Elle a gravi les échelons de la hiérarchie.^[8][2]
3. A classification by order of value, size or importance: une hiérarchie des priorités.^[2][3]

Word family

• hiérarchiser
• hiérarchisation

Related words

• hiérarchique
• hiérarque
• hiératique
• Medieval Latin hierarchia

Usage notes

Littré notes that although the h is not aspirated, the article is not elided (la hiérarchie) and there is no liaison (les hiérarchies without /z/).^[6] The Grand Robert and the Petit Robert likewise mark the h as aspirated.^[9][8]

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o 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 n o Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
5. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
6. ^ a b c d Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
7. ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
8. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert