infus

Forms

infus (feminine infuse, masculine plural infus, feminine plural infuses)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin īnfūsus (“poured in”), the past participle of īnfundō (“to pour into, spread over, make penetrate”),^[2][3][4] which is formed from in- (“into”) and fundō (“to pour”).^[5][4] The theological sense goes back to Christian Latin scientia īnfūsa, knowledge poured into the soul by God rather than acquired.^[2][3] Bloch and Wartburg date the word from Calvin in 1541 and treat the 13th-century record as isolated.^[6][5]

Cognate with Occitan enfus, Spanish infuso and Italian infuso.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

A 13th-century manuscript of the Livre des simples médecines uses infus en for “coated with” and infus a for “spread through, steeped in”; both senses have since died out.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

Theology took the word up again in the 15th century in grâce infuse, grace poured in by God, and by the end of that century Jean Molinet used it more generally of knowledge or virtues spread through the soul.^[2][3] In the 16th century it could still be used concretely, as when Paré speaks of rhubarb steeped in absinthe water.^[7]

Science infuse, recorded by Richelet in 1680, was originally the knowledge Adam held from God;^[2][6] it came to be used ironically and without religious reference, chiefly in avoir la science infuse (1834, Balzac), to know without having learnt, and so to claim to know everything.^[2][3] Today the adjective hardly lives outside this phrase and literary use.^[6][8]

Timeline

• 1200s – Infus en “coated with” and infus a “steeped in” appear in the Livre des simples médecines.^[2]
• 1400s – Used in theology in grâce infuse.^[2][3]
• Late 1400s – Jean Molinet uses it of qualities spread through the soul.^[2]
• 1541 – Calvin uses the word.^[6]
• 1680 – Richelet records science infuse.^[2]
• 1834 – Balzac writes avoir la science infuse ironically.^[2][3]

Meanings

Adjective

1. (literary) Of knowledge, qualities or feelings: present by nature, innate, as if poured into a person.^[2][8][1]
2. (archaic) Steeped or infused in a liquid.^[2][8]
3. (theology) Science infuse: knowledge infused by God, as Adam's was.^[8][7]
4. Avoir la science infuse: to know without having learnt; ironically, to think one knows everything: Il croit avoir la science infuse, mais il se trompe souvent.^[8][3]

Related words

• infusion
• infuser
• Latin īnfundō

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 h Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
5. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ a b c d Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
7. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert