Etymologically
Log in

itératif

History Permalink

Etymology and origin of the French word itératif

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1403 Tournai archive document More words from the 15th century
Borrowed from
Latin iterativus
Ultimate origin
Latin iterō

Pronunciation

  • /i.te.ʁa.tif/[1]

Forms

itératif (feminine itérative, masculine plural itératifs, feminine plural itératives)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Late Latin iterātīvus (“iterative”), a term the grammarians applied to iterative verbs, from iterātum, the supine of iterō (“to do again, repeat”).[2][3][4][5][1] The legal sense probably came through Medieval Latin.[3][6] The TLFi treats the 1403 legal word as a French formation on the stem of the Latin supine with the suffix -if, and only the grammatical term as the Late Latin word.[2] The Latin verb comes from iterum (“again”).[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded in 1403 as yterative, in commission yterative “repeated commission”, a legal phrase in a document from Tournai.[2][3][6]

Semantic evolution

In legal procedure it describes what is done a second or further time: itératif commandement, a repeated summons, and itératif défaut, a judgment recording that a party is absent again.[2][7][8] The adverb itérativement is recorded in 1528, also in law.[2][6]

In grammar it was taken up again in 1840 for verb forms that express a repeated action, the sense of fréquentatif.[2][6] Under the influence of English iterative (1924 in mathematics), it came to mean “repeated many times”, especially in computing (about 1970), and in mathematics “proceeding by itération”.[6][7] The English word iterative was itself borrowed from French in the late 15th century.[9]

Timeline

  • 1403 – Commission yterative appears in a Tournai document.[2][6]
  • 1528 – The adverb itérativement is recorded.[2][6]
  • 1840 – Terminaison itérative is used in grammar.[2][6]
  • 1867 – Littré's dictionary gives the grammatical sense.[4][7]
  • 1906 – Itératif is used as a noun for an iterative verb.[2]
  • c. 1970 – It is used in computing, after English.[6]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. (law) Repeated, made again: itératif commandement, itératif défaut.[7][2][3]
  2. (grammar) Frequentative, expressing a repeated action: verbe itératif.[7][2][8]
  3. (technical) Repeated several times: une procédure itérative in a computer program.[7][10]
  4. (mathematics) Proceeding by iteration: un algorithme itératif.[7][6]

Noun

  1. (grammar) An iterative verb or form.[10][2]

Word family

  • itérativement

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, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  5. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  8. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  9. ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  10. ^ a b Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Itératif.” Etymologically, 15 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/it%C3%A9ratif. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·