inflexion

Forms

inflexion f (plural inflexions)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin inflexiō (“a bending”), which in Late Latin was also a term of grammar,^[2][3][4] from inflexus, the past participle of inflectō (“to bend, inflect”),^[2][5] formed from in- and flectō (“to bend”).^[3][5] The verb infléchir was formed later (1738) from it, on the model of flexion beside fléchir.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its first record, in Évrart de Conty’s translation of the Problems of Aristotle at the end of the 14th century (in a 15th-century manuscript), uses it for a curvature: the belly has no inflexions ou incurvations.^[2][5]

Semantic evolution

The word was rare before the 17th century.^[6][3][5] Its first sense, the state of something bent or the movement by which it bends, is now learned.^[3] In 1636 Monet records it for a change of tone in the voice, and in 1690 Furetière gives it as a grammatical term, an equivalent of flexion.^[2][3]

From the sense “bending” came scientific uses: in optics, Voltaire wrote of the inflexion de la lumière in 1739, and the Encyclopédie (1765) has the geometric point d’inflexion of a curve.^[2][3] Figuratively, it was used from 1828 (Sainte-Beuve) for a change in the direction of a thought or feeling.^[3] In phonetics (1893) inflexion vocalique is the change in a vowel’s quality under the influence of a neighbouring sound.^[3][7]

Timeline

• Late 14th century – Évrart de Conty uses inflexion for a curvature.^[2]
• 1636 – Monet records the sense “change of tone in the voice”.^[2][3]
• 1690 – Furetière gives it as a grammatical term.^[2][3]
• 1739 – Voltaire writes of the inflexion de la lumière.^[2][3]
• 1765 – The Encyclopédie has point d’inflexion in geometry.^[2][3]
• 1828 – Sainte-Beuve uses it for a change in the direction of a thought.^[3]
• 1893 – Inflexion vocalique appears in phonetics.^[3][7]

Meanings

Noun

1. A slight bending or bow of the body or head: une légère inflexion de la tête.^[8][7]
2. A change of direction or course, as of a road or river.^[8]
3. (mathematics) Point d’inflexion: the inflection point of a curve, where its concavity changes.^[8][9]
4. A change of tone or pitch in the voice.^[8][9]
5. (figurative) A shift in the direction of a policy, a thought or a feeling.^[3][7]
6. (phonetics) Inflexion vocalique: vowel mutation under the influence of a neighbouring sound.^[3][1]

Word family

• infléchir
• point d'inflexion

Related words

• flexion
• fléchir
• Latin inflexiō

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j 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. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 4, 676a
5. ^ a b c d Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
7. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
8. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette