insistant

Forms

insistant (feminine insistante, masculine plural insistants, feminine plural insistantes)^[1]

Etymology

Used as an adjective, it is the present participle from French insister.^{[2][3][4][5][6][1]} Littré relates it to Latin īnsistēns (“pressing on”), the present participle of īnsistō.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Grand Robert has a rare use in 1533; the GLLF, the Petit Robert and Rey date the adjective 1553, in the Papiers d'État of Cardinal Granvelle.^[2][4][3][5]

Semantic evolution

The adjective describes someone or something that presses a point: a question, a voice, a person who keeps asking.^[6][3] It is also said of a feeling or perception that lasts and cannot be escaped, such as a pain or a smell,^[6] and of a theme that keeps coming back.^[6] In zoology Littré records pouce insistant, a bird's hind toe that touches the ground only with its tip.^[7] The noun insistance, from the same verb, is found in 1556 but was rare before 1801.^[5]

Timeline

• 1533 – A rare first use.^[2]
• 1553 – Used in the Papiers d'État of Granvelle.^[4][3][5]
• 1556 – First record of the related noun insistance.^[5]

Meanings

Adjective

1. insistent, pressing: des coups de sonnette insistants.^[6][3][1]
2. Lasting and hard to escape, persistent (of a pain, a smell, a look): un regard insistant.^[6][1]
3. Coming back again and again (of a theme or motif).^[6]

Related words

• insister
• insistance
• Latin īnsistō

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
5. ^ a b c d e Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ a b c d e f g 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
7. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette