Etymologically
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ignorer

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /i.ɲɔ.ʁe/[1]

Forms

ignorer[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin īgnōrō (“not to know”),[2][3][4][5] from īgnārus (“not knowing”), formed from in- and gnārus (“knowing”),[3][6] the source of ignare.[3]

Cognate with Old Occitan ignorar, Spanish ignorar and Italian ignorare.[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The 14th-century Girart de Roussillon (about 1330) has tout senz rien ignorer “all, without missing anything”, in the Latin sense “not to know”.[2][7]

Semantic evolution

At the end of the 14th century it also meant “to be negligent” (Froissart).[3][7] In 1564 it was used for not knowing someone's existence or worth, and the critics ignorèrent an artist whose work they did not know (Piron).[8][3] Fénelon (1714) has it for “to pretend not to know (someone)”, and Furetière (1690) for “not to take into account”;[8][3] the modern il m'ignore “he cuts me dead” belongs here.[9]

S'ignorer “not to know oneself” is in Pascal, and un artiste qui s'ignore is one unaware of his own nature.[3][9] The old construction en ignorer (1579) survives in the legal formula pour que nul n'en ignore.[2][3] Nul n'est censé ignorer la loi “ignorance of the law is no excuse” is a common maxim.[9][1]

Timeline

  • c. 1120 – The noun ignorance.[4]
  • c. 1330 – Ignorer in Girart de Roussillon.[2]
  • 1564 – Not to know someone's worth.[8]
  • 1579 – Je n'en ignore in Larivey.[2]
  • 1690 – “To disregard”, in Furetière.[3]
  • 1714 – “To pretend not to know (someone)” in Fénelon.[3]

Meanings

Verb

  1. Not to know, to be unaware of: j'ignore tout de cette affaire, nul n'est censé ignorer la loi.[9][1]
  2. To ignore (someone), treat as not worth notice; to disregard (something).[9][1]
  3. To have no experience of: ignorer la peur.[9]
  4. (law) Pour que nul n'en ignore: so that no one may be unaware of it.[9][3]
  5. (reflexive) Not to know oneself: un poète qui s'ignore.[9][3]

Word family

  • ignorance
  • ignorant
  • ignorantin

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e 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. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 4, 543a
  6. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  7. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  8. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert