indéterminé

Forms

indéterminé (feminine indéterminée, masculine plural indéterminés, feminine plural indéterminées)^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from French in- + déterminé, or it may be borrowed from Late Latin indēterminātus (“not delimited, infinite”), formed from in- (“not”) and dēterminātus, the past participle of dēterminō (“to mark the limits”).^[2][3][4][5] Bloch and Wartburg list it among the derivatives of déterminer.^[6] Picoche puts it in the family of Latin terminus (“boundary”), with déterminable and indéterminable.^[7]

The TLFi dates the first record 1370–1372, while the DHLF, the Grand Robert and the Petit Robert give about 1361, all in Nicole Oresme.^[2][5][3][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

It first appears in Nicole Oresme's translation of Aristotle's Ethics, in the sense “not specified, not fixed”.^[2][4]

Semantic evolution

The adjective has been applied mainly to things, but since about 1670 also to an undecided person (Pomey, 1671).^[5][2] The GLLF dates the sense “not situated in space or time” to 1690 (Furetière) and “with no precise limits” to 1801 (Chateaubriand).^[4] In mathematics, Littré records problèmes indéterminés, those with an unlimited number of solutions, and quantités indéterminées.^[9][4] It gave an adverb in -ment (1816) and the reflexive verb s'indéterminer (1893), first found in Durkheim.^[5]

Timeline

• 1370–1372 – Oresme uses it in the sense “not specified”.^[2]
• 1671 – Pomey records the sense “undecided”.^[2]
• 1690 – Furetière records the sense “not situated in space or time”.^[4]
• 1816 – The derived adverb is recorded.^[5]
• 1867 – Littré records the mathematical sense.^[4]
• 1893 – Durkheim uses s'indéterminer.^[5]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Not determined, specified or fixed; indefinite, vague: pour une raison indéterminée.^[8][10][9]
2. Contrat à durée indéterminée: an open-ended employment contract.^[1]
3. (mathematics) Of a quantity, value or problem: not fixed, admitting an unlimited number of solutions;^[8][10][9] forme indéterminée.^[8][10][9]
4. (philosophy) Not subject to determinism.^[8]
5. (of persons, rare) Undecided, hesitant.^[8][10][2]

Noun

1. L'indéterminé: what is vague or undefined.^[8][2]

Related words

• déterminé
• déterminer
• indétermination
• indéterminable

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d e f Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
5. ^ a b c d e f Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
7. ^ Picoche, Jacqueline (1991), Dictionnaire étymologique du français, Paris: Le Robert (Les Usuels du Robert)
8. ^ a b c d e f g Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ a b c d Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
10. ^ a b c d Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)