industrialisation

Forms

industrialisation f (plural industrialisations)^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from French industrialiser + -ation.^[2][1][3][4] The verb (1827) is itself formed on industriel with the suffix -iser.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in 1847, in a manuscript memorandum by Gautier kept in the municipal archives of Bordeaux, meaning the application of the methods of industry.^[2][3] Gautier wrote that for twenty years he had been against l'industrialisation, the general tendency to care only for material interests and physical well-being.^[5]

Semantic evolution

The word spread slowly: a German–French supplement dictionary of 1894 records industrialisation de la femme, the employment of women in industry,^[5] and the GLLF dates the sense “application of industrial methods” to the Larousse of 1907.^[6] The sense “development of industry in a region or country” is recorded from André Siegfried in 1935.^[6] The DHLF notes that the noun, like the verb it comes from, is in common use today.^[7]

Timeline

• 1827 – The verb industrialiser is first recorded.^[2]
• 1847 – First record of industrialisation, in Gautier's Memorandum.^[2][5]
• 1894 – Industrialisation de la femme is recorded in Sachs and Villatte's supplement.^[5]
• 1907 – The Larousse records the sense “application of the methods of industry”.^[6]
• 1935 – Siegfried uses it for the industrial development of a country.^[6]

Meanings

Noun

1. The application of industrial methods and techniques to an activity: l'industrialisation d'une production.^[4][8][2]
2. The development of industry and industrial equipment in a region or country, industrialization: une région en voie d'industrialisation.^[4][8][6]

Related words

• industrialiser
• industriel
• industrie
• désindustrialiser
• Latin industria

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 Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b c d Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
6. ^ a b c d e Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
7. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ a b Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)