incandescent

Forms

incandescent (feminine incandescente, masculine plural incandescents, feminine plural incandescentes)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin incandēscēns, the present participle of incandēscō (“to catch fire, glow white-hot”),^[2][3][4] formed from in- and candeō (“to be on fire, burn”) with the inchoative infix ⟨-sc-⟩.^[3][4] The GLLF analyses the Latin verb as the same prefix and candēscō (“to grow white, become white-hot”), the inchoative of the simpler verb “to be dazzling white, to burn”.^[5] The same Latin family gave candeur, chandelle, encens and incendie.^[6][3][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded in Lavoisier in 1781, meaning “heated white-hot”.^[2][3][4] Dauzat and the GLLF give 1771 in the Dictionnaire de Trévoux, but the TLFi notes that the word is not found there under its own letter.^[2][5]

Semantic evolution

Meaning at first “heated to white or bright red”, it was applied figuratively, like ardent and brûlant, to a person full of fire and excitement: Boiste records this in 1819.^[2][3] Littré's figurative sense is “quick-tempered, very excitable”, as in caractère incandescent.^[7] By analogy it has also come to mean “bright red”.^[3]

The noun incandescence is recorded in 1779 (1764 according to Bloch and Wartburg), and figuratively before 1821.^[3]

Timeline

• 1781 – Lavoisier uses incandescent for a body heated white-hot.^[2][3]
• 1819 – Boiste records the figurative sense “ardent, impetuous”.^[2][3]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Heated to white or red heat and made luminous by it, glowing: Le forgeron sortit du feu une barre incandescente.^[8][2][7]
2. Of something burning, giving off a red light and intense heat.^[2]
3. (figurative) Ardent, fiery, very excitable.^[2][7][8]

Word family

• incandescence

Related words

• candeur
• chandelle
• incendie
• Latin candeō

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
6. ^ Picoche, Jacqueline (1991), Dictionnaire étymologique du français, Paris: Le Robert (Les Usuels du Robert)
7. ^ a b c d Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert