irradiation

Forms

irradiation f (plural irradiations)^[1] Middle French irradiacion.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Late Latin irradiātiō (“a shining forth”),^[3][2][4][1] formed on the supine of irradiō (“to shine upon, beam”),^[3][2] a verb made with the prefix in- from radius (“pointed rod, ray of light”).^[2][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Evrart de Conty used it about 1380, in his Problèmes d'Aristote, of the sun's rays: le irradiation du solail “the radiation of the sun”.^[6][4] The TLFi dates the record by its 15th-century manuscript.^[3]

Semantic evolution

Calvin used it figuratively in 1561 for the outpouring of Christ's spirit.^[3][2] The Académie in 1694 recorded the radiating of light and, figuratively, the spreading of the animal spirits through the body.^[7][2]

In 1796 Laplace used it for the light that makes a bright body look larger than it is.^[3][2] The idea of spreading from a centre gave a sense in anatomy (1805, Cuvier), for fibres or vessels arranged like rays, and in medicine (1873) irradiation de la douleur, pain spreading from its source.^[3][2] Since 1926 it has meant exposing a body or substance to radiation,^[3][2] today chiefly in medicine and in the preserving of food.^[8][9] English irradiation was taken from the French word in the 1580s.^[10]

Timeline

• c. 1380 – Evrart de Conty writes of the sun's irradiation.^[6][4]
• 1561 – Calvin uses it figuratively.^[3][2]
• 1580s – English borrows it.^[10]
• 1694 – The Académie records it, with a figurative sense in physiology.^[7][2]
• 1796 – Laplace uses it in optics.^[3][2]
• 1805 – Cuvier uses it in anatomy.^[3]
• 1873 – Irradiation de la douleur is recorded.^[3][2]
• 1926 – First used for exposure to radiation.^[3][2]

Meanings

Noun

1. The emission of rays of light, and by extension of other radiation: l'irradiation du soleil.^[8][11][3]
2. (formal) A movement spreading out in all directions from a centre, as of pain from its point of origin.^[8][3]
3. (optics) The apparent enlargement of a bright object seen against a dark ground.^[3][12]
4. The exposure of an organism, an organ or a substance to radiation: l'irradiation d'une tumeur, the irradiation of food to preserve it.^[8][9][11]
5. (literary) The spreading of a feeling.^[9]

Related words

• irradier
• rayon¹
• radiation
• English irradiation

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 Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p 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
4. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 4, 814b
6. ^ a b Dictionnaire du Moyen Français, version 2015 (DMF 2015), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/dmf
7. ^ a b Académie française (1694), Le Dictionnaire de l'Académie françoise, 1st ed., Paris: Coignard
8. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ a b c Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
10. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
11. ^ a b Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
12. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette