injurieux

Forms

injurieux (feminine injurieuse, masculine plural injurieux, feminine plural injurieuses)^[1] Old French enjurius (about 1185).^[2][3] Anglo-Norman also enjuros and injurious.^[4]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin iniūriōsus (“unjust, harmful, baneful”),^[2][3][5] from iniūria (“injustice, wrong”).^[5][6] The first form, enjurius (about 1185), is the more popular one, and the Latin ⟨in-⟩ was restored by 1334.^[2][7][3] From Christian Latin on, its meaning developed in step with that of injure.^[2][3]

Compare Old Occitan enjurios, Spanish injurioso and Italian ingiurioso.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

About 1185 Hue de Rotelande's Ipomedon has enjurius meaning “slanderous, evil-tongued”.^[2][3] The Anglo-Norman Dictionary records the word from the mid-12th century (about 1136–65), meaning harmful, doing wrong, or given to slander.^[4]

Semantic evolution

From the 14th century it was used of words that offend: parolles injurieuses appears in a Reims document of 1334.^[2][3] After Latin it also meant “unjust, contrary to law”, a sense found in medieval texts cited by Du Cange (1258–1381).^[2] This sense was still alive in classical French, as in Racine's droits injurieux and the Académie's le destin injurieux (1694), but it is now obsolete.^[7][8] The sense “harmful, damaging” also belonged to classical usage.^[7]

The construction injurieux à is dated 1690 (Furetière) and injurieux pour 1838 (Balzac).^[7] In modern French the word means insulting or offensive, and its use for a person given to insulting others is rare.^[2][8]

Timeline

• c. 1185 – Enjurius “slanderous” appears in Hue de Rotelande's Ipomedon.^[2][3]
• 1258–1381 – The sense “unjust” is found in texts quoted by Du Cange.^[2]
• 1333 – The adverb injuriousement is recorded.^[2][3]
• 1334 – Parolles injurieuses “insulting words” in a Reims document.^[2][3]
• 1690 – Furetière has injurieux à.^[7]
• 1838 – Balzac uses injurieux pour.^[7]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Containing or amounting to an injure, insulting, offensive.^[8][2][9]
2. (rare) Of a person, quick to insult others.^[2]
3. (obsolete) Unjust, contrary to law.^[8][7][6]
4. (classical) Harmful, damaging.^[7][9]

Word family

• injurieusement

Related words

• injure
• injurier
• Latin iniūriōsus

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 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
5. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
7. ^ a b c d e f g h 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 Wiktionnaire (French Wiktionary), fr.wiktionary.org