inspirer

Forms

inspirer^[1] Old French enspirer (late 12th century) and espirer (1150);^[2][3][4] the form with in- is a later relatinisation (14th century).^[3]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin inspīrō (“to breathe into; to communicate, instil”), formed with in- (“in, into”) on spīrō (“to breathe”).^{[2][3][5][1][6]} Old French also had espirer, from the simple Latin verb, with the regular change of the initial; the TLFi, following the FEW, suggests that enspirer may be that verb with its prefix replaced.^[2][3] The same Latin verb is behind respirer and expirer.^[3]

Cognate with Old Occitan inspirar, Spanish inspirar and Italian inspirare.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found at the end of the 12th century, as enspirer, in the French Sermons of Saint Bernard, of God giving man life by his breath.^[2][3] A 12th-century life of Thomas Becket has espiré for courtiers swayed by a deceiver.^[7]

Semantic evolution

At the end of the 14th century the verb took the Latin sense “to breathe in, suggest”, then the physiological sense “to draw air into the lungs” (15th century), the opposite of expirer.^[3][2] In the 16th century inspirer quelqu'un de meant “to prompt someone to do something” (1536), whence inspirer quelque chose à quelqu'un (1636).^[3][2]

The verb has meant “to give creative fire” to a poet or artist since 1553, and “to arouse a feeling” since 1604.^[3][2] Être bien inspiré is recorded in 1690, and s'inspirer de “to borrow ideas from” only in 1829.^[2][3] In the 20th century the creative sense weakened to “to appeal to”, mostly in the negative: ça ne m'inspire pas.^[3][8]

Timeline

• 1150 – Espirer.^[4]
• Late 12th century – Enspirer, of God's breath.^[2]
• Late 14th century – “To instil, suggest”.^[2]
• 15th century – “To breathe in”.^[2][3]
• 1536 – Inspirer quelqu'un de “to prompt someone to”.^[2]
• 1553 – Creative inspiration, in Olivier de Magny.^[2]
• 1604 – “To arouse a feeling”, in Montchrestien.^[2]
• 1690 – Être bien inspiré.^[2]
• 1829 – S'inspirer de.^[3]

Meanings

Verb

1. To breathe in, inhale; intransitive, to draw air into the lungs: inspirez profondément.^[9][1]
2. Of God or a divinity, to animate with a divine breath.^[8][2]
3. To give creative inspiration to: la mer a inspiré ce peintre.^[8][2]
4. (familiar) To appeal to, tempt, mostly in the negative: ce film ne m'inspire pas.^[8][3]
5. To arouse a feeling or idea in someone: inspirer confiance, inspirer de la pitié à quelqu'un.^[8][10]
6. Être bien inspiré, mal inspiré: to have a good, bad idea.^[2][7]
7. S'inspirer de: to take ideas from, draw on.^[3][10]

Word family

• inspiré
• inspirant

Related words

• respirer
• inspiration
• inspirateur
• expirer
• Latin inspīrō

References

1. ^ a b c d 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 o Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 4, 720a
7. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ a b c d e 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
10. ^ a b Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)