hygiène

Forms

hygiène f (plural hygiènes)^[1] Paré wrote it hygiaine in 1575.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek ὑγιεινός (hugieinós, “healthy, wholesome, good for the health”), in its neuter form used as a noun meaning “health”.^[2][3][4] The adjective is derived from ὑγιής (hugiḗs, “healthy, sound”).^[2][3][1] Bloch and Wartburg note that Aristotle already used the neuter noun in the sense “health”,^[5] while Wiktionary starts from the phrase Ancient Greek ὑγιεινή τέχνη (hugieinḗ tékhnē, “the art of health”).^[1] Rey analyses the Greek adjective as a compound of two Indo-European roots, one meaning “well” and the other “to live”.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Paré introduced it in 1575 as hygiaine ou diaitetique, the part of medicine that studies the “non-natural things” and tries to preserve health through their reasonable use.^[2][6] Bloch and Wartburg date the word to 1550, and the GLLF dates Paré's use to about 1560.^[5][7]

Semantic evolution

The word first named the branch of medicine concerned with preserving and improving health, and by metonymy the principles and practices that serve this end.^[3][2] In the early 19th century it entered several set phrases: hygiène morale (1808, Cabanis), hygiène mentale and hygiène publique (1833, in a circular of Thiers as minister of commerce and public works).^[2][3] Littré also records hygiène professionnelle, hygiène militaire and hygiène navale.^[6]

In everyday use hygiène came to mean bodily hygiene, the practice of keeping the body clean, a sense the GLLF dates to the 20th century.^[3][7] The derivative hygiénique was used once as a noun in 1611 and again from 1803, but it was soon displaced by hygiène in that sense.^[3] English took the word from French in the 1670s as hygiene.^[8]

Timeline

• 1575 – Paré uses hygiaine in his Introduction à la chirurgie.^[2][3]
• 1611 – Hygiénique is recorded once as a noun for preventive medicine.^[3]
• 1670s – English borrows the word as hygiene.^[8]
• 1808 – Cabanis writes of hygienne morale.^[2]
• 1830 – Balzac uses the derivative hygiéniste.^[2]
• 1833 – Hygiène publique appears in a ministerial circular of Thiers.^[2][3]

Meanings

Noun

1. The principles and practices that aim to preserve and improve health; formerly the branch of medicine that studies them.^[9][10][2]
2. Bodily cleanliness and the care taken to keep the body clean.^[10][3]
3. Hygiène publique: the measures taken by the public authorities to protect the health of the population.^[9][2]
4. Hygiène mentale: the measures meant to keep the mind healthy.^[9]
5. Hygiène de vie: a healthy way of living, as in Il a une bonne hygiène de vie.^[9][10]

Word family

• hygiénique
• hygiéniste

Related words

• Ancient Greek ὑγιής (hugiḗs)
• English hygiene

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
6. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
7. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
8. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
9. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
10. ^ a b c Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)