injure

Forms

injure f (plural injures)^[1] Old French enjurie and injuire (1155), injurie (1174–1176); the form injure is a Renaissance remaking.^[2][3] Anglo-Norman also had engure, enjure and angure.^[4]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin iniūria (“injustice, violation of rights, wrong, damage”).^[3][5][2] In classical Latin it was a legal term, and it came to mean an offensive word only in Late Christian Latin.^[3][2] The Latin noun is derived from the old adjective iniūrius (“unjust”), formed from in- (“not”) and iūs (“right, law”).^[2][6][7] The early French spellings with ⟨en-⟩ were adaptations to the popular pattern, since the negative prefix ⟨in-⟩ was not yet current in French.^[3][2]

Cognate with Occitan injuria, Spanish injuria and Italian ingiuria.^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

Wace's Roman de Brut (1155) has enjurie in the strong Latin sense of “injustice, violation of rights”, and injuire for a wrong or damage done by breaking the law.^[3][2]

Semantic evolution

The legal senses taken from Latin, injustice and wrongful damage, were still in use in the classical period and have since disappeared.^[2][9] From the 1170s the word meant an outrage or affront, a sense now dated or literary;^[2][3] faire injure à quelqu'un first meant to treat someone unjustly and later to offend them.^[2][3]

In the 16th century it was applied to damage done by the weather and time, as in l'injure du temps (1559) and l'injure de l'hiver (1587); this use too has aged.^[3][2] At the same time it took the meaning that is now the most common, an offensive word or insult (1559).^[2][3] Bloch and Wartburg note that this dominant sense is a French development.^[9] In law it names an insulting expression that charges no precise fact.^[10][11]

Timeline

• 1155 – Enjurie and injuire appear in Wace's Roman de Brut, meaning “injustice” and “wrong, damage”.^[3]
• 1174–1176 – Injurie “outrage” in Guernes de Pont-Sainte-Maxence's Life of Saint Thomas.^[3][2]
• 16th century – The form injure replaces the older ones.^[2]
• 1559 – Amyot uses l'injure du temps and the sense “offensive word”.^[3][2]
• 1587 – La Noue writes l'injure de l'hiver.^[3]
• 1690 – Furetière records faire à quelqu'un l'injure de.^[6]
• 1804 – The Civil Code uses injure grave.^[6]

Meanings

Noun

1. An offensive word or expression, an insult: ils ont échangé des injures.^[10][11]
2. (literary) A grave and deliberate offence or affront;^[11][12] faire injure à quelqu'un, to offend someone.^[11][12]
3. (literary) Damage done by time or the elements: les injures du temps.^[10][12]
4. (law) An insulting expression that does not impute any precise fact.^[10][11]
5. (obsolete) Injustice, unjust treatment.^[12][8]

Related words

• injurier
• injurieux
• Latin iniūria

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ 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
4. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 4, 697b
6. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
7. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
9. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
10. ^ a b c d Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
11. ^ a b c d e Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
12. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert