infiltrer

Forms

infiltrer (transitive), pronominal s’infiltrer^[1][3]

Etymology

It is formed from French in- + filtrer.^[3][1][4] The verb is recorded about 1370, long before the simple verb (1575) and the noun filtre (16th century), so Rey and the Grand Robert suppose a Latin verb *infiltrō formed on Medieval Latin filtrum (“filter”), a Medieval Latin word attested in 1235.^[5][2][3] The FEW files it with the noun under the same etymon as feutre “felt”.^[6][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found about 1370 as a medical term in the Grande Chirurgie of Guy de Chauliac, of a fluid passing into the tissues of the body.^[3][5]

Semantic evolution

The transitive verb began in medicine and in 1762 the Académie recorded it in the general sense “to pass through as through a filter”;^[3] Buffon used it in 1783 of rainwater soaking into the ground.^[3] The pronominal s’infiltrer is medical in 1752 and general in 1762, and it is the form in common use today, the transitive verb being now rare or literary.^[3][5][1]

From the early 19th century it was used figuratively: of things or people slipping in unnoticed (Hugo, 1827) and of ideas gradually entering the mind (1833).^[3][5] The sense of people getting in without being noticed was used especially in military language, which led to a new transitive use, “to place agents inside (a group or organization)”, recorded in 1965.^[5][1]

Timeline

• c. 1370 – First recorded as a medical term in Guy de Chauliac's Grande Chirurgie.^[3]
• 16th century – Ambroise Paré uses the participle infiltré of tissue joined to the skull.^[7]
• 1575 – The simple verb filtrer is first recorded, in Paré.^[3]
• 1752 – The pronominal s’infiltrer appears as a medical term in the Dictionnaire de Trévoux.^[3]
• 1762 – The Académie records the verb in the sense “to pass as through a filter”.^[3]
• 1827 – Hugo uses s’infiltrer for “to slip in”.^[3]
• 1833 – Maurice de Guérin uses it of what gradually enters the mind.^[3]
• 1965 – The transitive sense “to place agents in an organization” is recorded.^[1][5]

Meanings

Verb

1. (transitive, rare) To permeate a body gradually, passing through its pores or gaps as through a filtre.^[1][3]
2. (transitive, medicine) To inject a liquid into a tissue or a joint.^[1][8]
3. (transitive) To get agents into a group or organization in order to gather information: la police a infiltré le réseau.^[1][9][4]
4. (pronominal) Of water or another fluid, to seep into or through something: la pluie s’infiltre sous les tuiles.^[1][7][4]
5. (pronominal, figurative) To slip in or penetrate gradually without being noticed, of people, ideas or feelings.^[1][3][7]

Word family

• infiltration

Related words

• filtrer
• filtre
• Medieval Latin filtrum

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
2. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q 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
4. ^ a b c Wiktionnaire (French Wiktionary), fr.wiktionary.org
5. ^ a b c d e f Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 15/2, 127a
7. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
9. ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)