inonder

Forms

inonder^[1] Old French enunder, enonder; the forms with ⟨i⟩ became general only in the 15th century (1420).^[2][3]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin inundō (“to overflow, to flood”),^[2][3][4][5] formed from in- marking movement towards and undō (“to surge in waves”), itself from unda (“wave”).^[2][3][6] The word was first borrowed with the French prefix en-, as Old French enunder and enonder.^[2][3]

Compare Italian inondare.^[1] Littré cites the Genevan form énondé.^[7] French onde goes back to the same Latin noun.^[6][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record, enunder in the Oxford Psalter (first half of the 12th century), is intransitive and means “to overflow”, of springs that God made to gush from the rock.^[2][7]

Semantic evolution

In the 13th century the intransitive verb was used figuratively of people “flocking in great numbers”.^[2][3] The transitive use followed: figuratively “to cover” (about 1250, Robert de Blois), then of water “to cover with water” (about 1265, Brunetto Latini, who says that the Nile floods the land of Egypt).^[2][7][3]

By extension the verb was used of tears (1554) and of blood (1653), and figuratively, of people or things, for “to invade, overrun” (1653).^[2][3] The past participle became the adjective inondé, used as a noun for a flood victim since 1840.^[3] The derivative inondable “liable to flooding” is recorded in 1874.^[2][3]

Timeline

• c. 1120 – Enunder “to overflow” in the Oxford Psalter.^[2][6]
• 13th century – Used of people flocking in great numbers.^[2]
• c. 1250 – First transitive use, figuratively “to cover”, as enonder.^[2][3]
• c. 1265 – Brunetto Latini uses it for water covering the land.^[2][7]
• 1420 – The forms with in- begin to prevail.^[2][3]
• 1554 – Used of tears.^[2]
• 1653 – Used of blood, and figuratively for “to invade”.^[2][3]
• 1840 – Inondé is used as a noun.^[3]
• 1874 – Inondable is first recorded.^[2]

Meanings

Verb

1. To flood, to cover with water that overflows or pours in: la rivière a inondé les champs, “the river has flooded the fields”.^[8][2][7]
2. By exaggeration, to soak, to wet abundantly: la pluie l'a inondé, “the rain drenched him”.^[8][7][9]
3. (figurative) To overrun or swamp in great numbers or quantities: les touristes inondent la plage, “tourists swarm over the beach”.^[8][7]

Word family

• inondable
• inondé

Related words

• inondation
• onde
• Latin inundō
• Latin unda

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 n o p q r 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 4, 785b
6. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ a b c d e f g Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse