immunisation

Forms

immunisation f (plural immunisations)^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from French immuniser + -ation.^[2][3][4] The verb is a learned derivative, coined by Calmette in the same year, from Latin immūnis (“exempt”), formed in relation to the noun immunité.^[2][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

It first appears in 1894, in a paper by Dr Albert Calmette in the Annales de l'Institut Pasteur on the immunization of animals against snake venom, meaning the act of making an organism resistant to a poison or infection.^[2][5][3]

Semantic evolution

The word has stayed a medical term, naming both the act of immunizing a living organism, naturally or artificially, and its result.^[2][6] The GLLF dates its entry in the Larousse dictionaries to 1907.^[6][7]

Timeline

• 1894 – First record, in Calmette's article on snake venom.^[2][3]
• 1907 – The Larousse records the word.^[6]

Meanings

Noun

1. (medicine) The act of immunizing an organism against an infection or poison, naturally or artificially, as by vaccination.^[2][8][6]
2. The resulting state of protection: une immunisation durable.^[2][6][8]

Related words

• immuniser
• immunité
• immun
• immunisant
• Latin immūnis

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ Académie française (1992–2024), Dictionnaire de l'Académie française, 9th ed., Paris: Académie française / Fayard / Imprimerie nationale
5. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ a b c d e Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
7. ^ Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
8. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert