inscription

Forms

inscription f (plural inscriptions)^[1] Middle French inscripcion (1444).^[2][3]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin īnscrīptiō (“act of inscribing, what is inscribed”), first recorded in the form inscripcion in 1444.^[2][4][3] The Latin noun is formed on the supine of īnscrībō (“to write on, inscribe”),^[3][5] the verb behind French inscrire.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

In 1444 it was a legal term for entering oneself as a party in a lawsuit.^[2][4][3] The Anglo-Norman Dictionary has it in the sense “inscribed text” from the third quarter of the 13th century.^[6]

Semantic evolution

The legal sense lasted until the 18th century, when Trévoux still recorded it in 1771.^[2] The word then meant the title of a file (1480) and then, in 1509 in Jean Lemaire de Belges, a text written or engraved, the source of the main modern sense.^[2][4] The legal inscription de faux, a challenge to a document as forged, dates from 1585.^[2][4]

From 1615 it also named the act of entering a name on a register;^[2][4] it was used in geometry from 1690,^[2] and for a student's enrolment in a faculty from 1721.^[4][5] Furetière in 1690 also gives it for a short notice put up to inform the public.^[5][4]

Timeline

• 13th century, third quarter – Anglo-Norman inscription “inscribed text”.^[6]
• 1444 – Inscripcion is used in law for joining a lawsuit.^[2]
• 1480 – It names the title of a file.^[2]
• 1509 – Jean Lemaire de Belges uses it for a written or engraved text.^[2]
• 1585 – Inscription de faux appears in Noël du Fail.^[2]
• 1615 – Étienne Pasquier uses it for entry on a register.^[2]
• 1690 – Furetière records the geometrical sense and the sense “public notice”.^[2][5]
• 1721 – Trévoux records a student's enrolment.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. Words or characters written or engraved on stone, metal or a monument to record something: une inscription latine sur une stèle.^[7][8]
2. A short written notice informing the public, on a sign or a label.^[7][8]
3. The act of entering a name on a register or list, registration or enrolment: l'inscription à l'université.^[7][1]
4. (nautical) Inscription maritime: the registration of professional seamen, and the administration that keeps it.^[7]
5. (law) Inscription de faux: a formal challenge to a document as forged.^[7][2]

Related words

• inscrire
• Latin īnscrīptiō

Usage notes

The Académie des inscriptions et belles-lettres takes its name from the study of ancient inscriptions.^[7][8]

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 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
6. ^ a b Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
7. ^ a b c d e f Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette