inspecter

Forms

inspecter^[1]

Etymology

It is from French inspecteur, with the verb ending -er, modelled on Latin īnspectō (“to examine”).^[2][3][4][5] The Grand Robert and Littré give the Latin verb as its source directly.^[6][7] The noun is borrowed from īnspector (“examiner, inspector”), and the Latin verb is the frequentative of īnspiciō (“to look into”), from in- and the old verb speciō (“to look”).^[4][3][6][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Helvétius, in De l'homme (before 1771), is the first to use it, both for “to examine officially, as an inspector” and for “to examine attentively”.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

The verb arose two centuries after its family: inspection is found in 1432 and inspecteur in 1488, then regularly from 1619.^[4] The GLLF dates the official sense to 1781 (Bohan) and the general “to examine closely” to Maupassant (1885).^[5] Rey notes that the verb is common in modern French and that inspection and inspecteur are now felt as attached to it.^[3]

Timeline

• Before 1771 – Helvétius uses inspecter in its two senses.^[2][3]
• 1781 – Bohan uses it of official inspection.^[5][4]
• 1885 – Maupassant uses it for “to examine closely”.^[5]

Meanings

Verb

1. To inspect officially, to examine what one is responsible for supervising: inspecter une usine, “to inspect a factory”.^[8][2][7]
2. To examine closely, to scrutinize: il inspecta la chambre avant de dormir, “he looked the room over before going to sleep”.^[8][2][5]

Related words

• inspecteur
• inspection
• spectacle
• Latin īnspectō

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
5. ^ a b c d e f Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
6. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert