impliquer

Forms

impliquer^[1] Middle French also had the form empliquer, with the French prefix en- put in place of the Latin in-.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin implicō (“to fold in, entwine, entangle”), first recorded in 1377.^[3][2][4] The Latin verb is formed from in- (“in”) and plicō (“to fold”), and was used in law and logic.^[2][5] Bloch and Wartburg think the logical sense probably grew in Medieval Latin.^[6]

The same Latin verb, inherited, gave employer, so the two French verbs are doublets.^[2][1] Cognate with Occitan implicar, Spanish implicar and Italian implicare.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

It first appears in 1377 in Nicole Oresme's Livre du ciel et du monde, in the phrase impliquer contradiction “to contain a contradiction”.^[3][2]

Semantic evolution

The first uses were logical: besides impliquer contradiction, the verb alone meant “to be contradictory” (1381, then again in 1641 in the objections printed with Descartes), a use that has died out.^[3][2] From the late 14th century it also had the concrete sense of the Latin, “to entangle, embarrass”, chiefly in the participle impliqué and the reflexive se implicquer (1482).^[3][2]

From that lost sense came “to draw someone into an awkward affair” (1596, Hulsius), then in law “to name in an accusation” (1611, Cotgrave), and in everyday use “to involve someone or something in an action”.^[3][2] The logical line went on to “to imply, entail as a consequence” (1803, Chateaubriand) and a technical sense in mathematics and logic (1904).^[3][5]

Timeline

• 1377 – Oresme uses impliquer contradiction.^[3][2]
• 1381 – Impliquer alone means “to be contradictory”.^[3]
• Late 14th century – The form empliquer means “to entangle, ensnare”.^[3]
• 1482 – The reflexive se implicquer “to get entangled” is printed.^[3][2]
• 1596 – Hulsius records “to draw into a difficult situation”.^[3][5]
• 1611 – Cotgrave records “to include in an accusation”.^[3]
• 1803 – Chateaubriand uses it for “to entail as a consequence”.^[3]
• 1904 – Couturat uses it as a term of mathematics.^[3]

Meanings

Verb

1. To implicate someone in an unpleasant affair, especially to name them in a legal case; often passive: il est impliqué dans un scandale.^[8][3]
2. To imply, to contain implicitly.^[8][1]
3. To entail as a consequence;^[8] impliquer que: to presuppose that.^[8]
4. (logic, mathematics) To imply in the logical sense (if one proposition is true, so is the other).^[8][3]
5. (reflexive) s'impliquer dans: to get involved in, take part in.^[1]
6. (archaic, literary) To entangle, intertwine.^[3]

Related words

• implication
• implicite
• employer
• plier
• Latin implicō

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r 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
4. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 4, 595b
5. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
6. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
7. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert