indiquer

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ɛ̃.di.ke/^[1]

Forms

indiquer^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin indicō (“to point out, show; to denounce; to put a price on”), from index (“forefinger; informer”) (see index, indice).^[2][3][4][5] Bloch and Wartburg date it to 1510; the TLFi's first quotation is in Cotgrave (1611).^[6][2][3] Rey notes that it also took over senses of indīcō (“to proclaim, impose”), a compound of dīcō (“to say”).^[3]

The same Latin verb had given by regular development Old French aengier (“to increase”), whence engeance, and a Gallo-Roman derivative gave Old French enditier (“to make known”), used until the end of the 16th century.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded in 1510, with the sense “to show precisely, by a gesture or sign”.^[6][3][7]

Semantic evolution

Cotgrave (1611) has “to make known something secret” and “to denounce (a culprit)”, a sense taken up by Montesquieu (1748) and in 19th-century argot after indicateur.^[3][7] In the 17th century medicine used it for the treatment that a condition calls for, mostly in the past participle (remède indiqué), whence contre-indiquer (1770).^[3]

Furetière (1690) records the sense “to tell someone where to find something”, as in indiquer un lieu.^[3][7] In the arts it came to mean “to sketch” (La Harpe, before 1803), and with a thing as subject “to be the sign of” (1835).^[2][3]

Timeline

• 1333 – The noun indication.^[6][3]
• 1510 – First record of the verb.^[6]
• 1611 – Recorded by Cotgrave.^[2]
• 1690 – “To direct (someone) to”, in Furetière.^[3]
• 1770 – Contre-indiquer.^[3]
• Before 1803 – “To sketch”, in La Harpe.^[2]
• 1835 – “To be the sign of”, in the Académie.^[3]

Meanings

Verb

1. To show, point out: indiquer quelque chose du doigt, l'horloge indique deux heures.^[8][9]
2. To tell, give (information): pouvez-vous m'indiquer un bon médecin ?, indiquer la bonne direction.^[8][9]
3. To indicate, be a sign of: les traces indiquent la fuite.^[10][3]
4. (medicine) To call for (a treatment); indiqué, advisable, appropriate.^[3][1]
5. (arts) To sketch, outline.^[2][3]

Word family

• indicateur
• contre-indication
• contre-indiquer

Related words

• indicatif
• indication
• indice
• index
• Latin indicō

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f 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 j k l m n o p Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 4, 643a
6. ^ a b c d Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
7. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
8. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ a b Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
10. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette