informer

Forms

informer^[1] Old French enformer, infourmer and einformer.^[2][3] Anglo-Norman spellings include enfourmer, enfurmer and efformer.^[4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French enformer (“to give a form to”), inherited from Latin īnfōrmō (“to shape, form, represent in the mind”), refashioned after the Latin word in the 15th century.^{[3][2][5][6][7]} That verb is formed from Latin in- + fōrmō (“to form”), from fōrma (“form”).^[3][6] Wiktionary treats the modern verb as borrowed from Latin.^[1] The refashioning wavered in its form and prefix, as in infourmer (1286) and einformer (1351).^[3][2]

Compare Occitan informar, Spanish informar and Italian informare.^[8] The English verb inform (early 14th century) comes from the Old French verb and directly from Latin.^[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

As enformer it is first recorded in 1174, in Guernes de Pont-Sainte-Maxence's life of Thomas Becket, meaning “to give a form to”.^[2][3] Littré quotes from that text pur la pais enformer “to make the peace”.^[8]

Semantic evolution

The Old French verb also meant “to instruct someone in something” (1275).^[3] The refashioned verb was first reflexive, soi infourmer “to inquire” (1286), then transitive, “to let someone know” (1351), and informer que “to tell someone that” is found in 1392.^[2][3] In 1538 it took the legal sense “to conduct a criminal investigation”.^[2][3]

In the 16th century it took up again the Latin sense “to give a form to” (1567, Philibert de l'Orme), especially in philosophy, of the soul giving organised life to a body (1572, Amyot) and later of a spiritual principle (1617).^[2][3] The sense “to question someone about something” (before 1615) did not last.^[3] In the 20th century the verb was influenced by the newer senses of information.^[3] In law, the past participle used as a noun gave un plus ample informé (1671) “a fuller inquiry”, whence jusqu'à plus ample informé.^[3]

Timeline

• 1174 – Enformer “to give a form to” appears in Guernes de Pont-Sainte-Maxence.^[2]
• 1275 – Enformer is used for “to instruct”.^[3]
• 1286 – Soi infourmer “to inquire” is recorded in a Picard text.^[2][3]
• 1351 – Einformer “to let someone know” appears.^[2]
• Early 14th century – English borrows the verb as enfourmen.^[9]
• 1392 – Infourmeir que “to tell someone that” is recorded.^[2][3]
• 1538 – Estienne records the legal sense “to conduct an investigation”.^[2]
• 1567 – Philibert de l'Orme uses it for “to give a form to”.^[2]
• 1572 – Amyot uses it in philosophy, of the soul.^[2][3]
• 1671 – The legal phrase plus ample informé is recorded.^[3]

Meanings

Verb

1. (philosophy) To give a form or structure to something.^[10][11][2]
2. To tell, to let someone know, to inform: informer quelqu'un de quelque chose, elle nous a informés qu'elle partait.^[10][11]
3. (law, intransitive) To conduct a criminal investigation into a fact.^[11][8]
4. S'informer: to inquire, to gather information: il s'est informé des horaires du train.^[11][1]

Word family

• informateur
• informatif

Related words

• information
• former
• forme
• Latin īnfōrmō
• English inform

Usage notes

The legal phrase jusqu'à plus ample informé, “until further information is available”, comes from the noun use of the past participle.^[3]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o 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 q r Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
5. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
7. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 4, 678b
8. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
9. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
10. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
11. ^ a b c d Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)