intentionnel

Forms

intentionnel (feminine intentionnelle, masculine plural intentionnels, feminine plural intentionnelles)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Medieval Latin intentionalis (“of the order of representation, of the mind's intention”), a word of scholastic Latin.^[2] In the modern sense “done on purpose” (1798) it is formed from French intention + -el.^[2][1][3] intention is itself from Latin intentiō.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its first trace is the form intencionnal rendering Latin intencionalis in a Latin–French glossary of the late 14th century.^[2][5]

Semantic evolution

In 1487 intentionnel meant “that one has in view”.^[6][5][4] A sanctification intentionnelle is found in 1610, and in 1636 Mersenne speaks of espèces intentionnelles, the scholastic images thought to come from bodies and strike the senses.^[2][7][5]

The Académie recorded the present sense, “done deliberately”, in 1798.^[2][5] In law Littré has question intentionnelle, the question put to a jury about the intent of the accused,^[7] and the Petit Robert sets the délit intentionnel against the délit d'imprudence.^[3] In 1931 the French translation of Husserl's Méditations cartésiennes by Peiffer and Levinas used it in phenomenology.^[2]

Timeline

• c. 1380 – A Latin–French glossary has intencionnal.^[2][5]
• 1487 – Intentionnel “that one has in view” is recorded.^[6][5]
• 1610 – Coton writes of a sanctification intentionnelle.^[2]
• 1636 – Mersenne uses espèces intentionnelles.^[2]
• 1798 – The Académie records the sense “deliberate”.^[2][5]
• 1931 – It is used in phenomenology in the translation of Husserl.^[2]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Done on purpose, deliberate, intentional: un oubli intentionnel.^[3][2]
2. (law) Délit intentionnel: an offence committed with intent, as opposed to one of negligence.^[3]
3. (scholastic philosophy) Espèces intentionnelles: the images supposed to issue from bodies and strike the senses.^[5][7]
4. (phenomenology) Relating to intentionality, the mind's directedness towards an object.^[2][5]

Word family

• intentionnellement

Related words

• intention
• intentionné
• Medieval Latin intentionalis

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 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-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b 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 g h i 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 c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette