infiltration

Forms

infiltration f (plural infiltrations)^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from French infiltrer + -ation.^[2][3][4] The verb infiltrer is from French filtrer with the prefix in-, and is recorded at the same time as the noun.^[2][5] The FEW files the family under Frankish *filtir (“felt”),^[6] and Bloch and Wartburg explain filtre as a word of the medieval alchemists' Latin, the same word as feutre.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found about 1370 as a medical term in a manuscript of Guy de Chauliac's Grande Chirurgie,^[2][7][3] in the sense of a fluid or of cells spreading through the tissues of the body.^[8]

Semantic evolution

The noun followed the history of the verb.^[3] In 1762 the Académie recorded it for anything that seeps into the pores of solid matter, and in 1783 Buffon used it of water seeping into the joints between layers of clay.^[2] The absolute use for water coming through a wall or roof is recorded in 1873.^[8]

The figurative sense of a slow, stealthy penetration dates from 1834 (Sainte-Beuve),^[2][3] and in 1871 Renan applied the word to people entering a country or a town in small groups,^[2] the source of its modern use for agents slipping into an organization or enemy territory.^[9][10]

Timeline

• c. 1370 – First recorded as a medical term in Guy de Chauliac's Grande Chirurgie.^[2][3]
• 1762 – The Académie records it for something that seeps into the pores of solid bodies.^[2][3]
• 1783 – Buffon uses it of water seeping through layers of clay.^[2]
• 1834 – Sainte-Beuve uses it figuratively for a slow, hidden penetration.^[2][3]
• 1871 – Renan applies it to men entering a country in small groups.^[2]
• 1873 – Larousse records the absolute use for water coming through a wall.^[8]

Meanings

Noun

1. The slow seepage of a liquid through the pores or gaps of a solid body: l’infiltration de la pluie dans le sable.^[10][9][11]
2. An accidental leak of water into a wall, ceiling or roof.^[10][11]
3. (medicine) An abnormal build-up of fluid, gas or cells in a tissue.^[10][9][2]
4. (medicine) An injection of a drug spread through the area being treated.^[9][10][1]
5. A slow, hidden penetration, of ideas or of people; the infiltration of agents into a group or territory.^[9][2][10]

Related words

• infiltrer
• filtrer
• filtre
• infiltrat

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ Wiktionnaire (French Wiktionary), fr.wiktionary.org
5. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 15/2, 127a
7. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
9. ^ a b c d e Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
10. ^ a b c d e f Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
11. ^ a b Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)