inconstance

Forms

inconstance f (plural inconstances)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin inconstantia (“fickleness, changeability”),^[2][3][4] from inconstāns (“inconstant”).^[3][5] The adjective inconstant was borrowed in the same period (1265), and both are the opposites of constance and constant, from cōnstāns, the present participle of cōnstō.^[6][7]

The TLFi dates the first record to about 1231, in Gautier de Coinci's “Miracles de Notre-Dame”;^[2] the DHLF, the Grand Robert, the Petit Robert and the GLLF give about 1220 for the same author.^[6][5][8][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

Gautier de Coinci uses it for a person's lack of constancy: the devil, if he sees in you any inconstance, will lead you into such thoughts that he soon overcomes you.^[2][10]

Semantic evolution

In Old and Middle French the word named a lack of firmness or perseverance in a person,^[2][11] and it was recorded in Anglo-Norman with the sense “fickleness”.^[12] From 1538 (Robert Estienne) it was also said of things, such as the weather or fortune.^[2][9] In the 16th century it specialized in the field of love, for a tendency to infidelity (about 1530 in the TLFi, 1573 in Desportes for the GLLF),^[2][9][6] and in 1604 it took the concrete sense of an act of infidelity, as in the title of Marivaux's La Double Inconstance (1723).^[2][6] The Académie's dictionary of 1694 said that it was used only in a bad sense.^[13]

The pair constance and inconstance, bound up with a Baroque and classical idea of love, has been old-fashioned since the 19th century, and modern usage prefers infidélité for the concrete sense.^[6]

Timeline

• c. 1231 – Gautier de Coinci uses it in the Miracles de Notre-Dame.^[2]
• c. 1530 – It is used for a tendency to infidelity in love.^[2]
• 1538 – Robert Estienne records it of the changeable character of things.^[2]
• 1604 – Montchrestien uses it for an act of inconstancy.^[2]
• 1694 – The Académie française records it.^[13]
• 1723 – Marivaux's play La Double Inconstance.^[6][4]

Meanings

Noun

1. (dated or literary) Fickleness, a tendency to change one's opinions, decisions or feelings too easily.^[8][2][14]
2. A tendency to infidelity in love.^[8][4]
3. An act of inconstancy or infidelity.^[8][4]
4. (literary) The changeable character of a thing: l'inconstance du climat.^[8][3]

Related words

• inconstant
• constance
• constant
• inconstamment
• Latin inconstantia
• English inconstancy

References

1. ^ a b 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 Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
4. ^ a b c d Académie française (1992–2024), Dictionnaire de l'Académie française, 9th ed., Paris: Académie française / Fayard / Imprimerie nationale
5. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ a b c d e f Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ Picoche, Jacqueline (1991), Dictionnaire étymologique du français, Paris: Le Robert (Les Usuels du Robert)
8. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
10. ^ Tobler, Adolf; Lommatzsch, Erhard (1925–2002), Altfranzösisches Wörterbuch, 11 vols., Berlin / Wiesbaden / Stuttgart: Weidmann / Steiner
11. ^ Dictionnaire du Moyen Français, version 2015 (DMF 2015), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/dmf
12. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
13. ^ a b Académie française (1694), Le Dictionnaire de l'Académie françoise, 1st ed., Paris: Coignard
14. ^ Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)