Etymologically
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jeune

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ʒœn/[1]

Forms

jeune (plural jeunes)[1] Old French juvene, jovenur, juefne, joefne, juenne, jone, gienvle, jeune from the 13th century.[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French juefne, inherited from Vulgar Latin *iovenis, an alteration of Latin iuvenis (“young; young man or woman”).[4][2][3][5][1] The Vulgar Latin vowel “o” arose from “-uv-” before the labial, and accounts for the Old French forms in “-o-”.[4][2] In Latin the word was mostly a noun, naming a person of roughly twenty to forty, between the adulēscēns and the senior; its adjectival use and feminine were rare and late.[2]

The Latin word goes back to an Indo-European root also seen in the name of Juno, and in English young, German jung and Sanskrit युवन् (yuvan).[2][6][7] Cognate with Romanian june, Italian giovane, Spanish joven, Catalan jove, Occitan jove and Portuguese jovem.[6][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found at the start of the 12th century, in the prologue of the Vie de saint Alexis: la sue spuse juvene “his young wife”, meaning “not far advanced in age”.[4]

Semantic evolution

Set phrases formed early: jeune homme (about 1160) and jeune fille (15th century); jeunes gens now serves as their plural.[2][4] From the 14th century it was used of animals and plants, and, from 1873 of things, as in montagne jeune.[2]

From the 13th century the stress fell on the traits of youth: favourable ones (“fresh, vigorous”) and unfavourable ones, “naive, inexperienced” (1213).[2][4] From 1536 it indicated a person's age relative to others, as opposed to aîné or ancien, and it can mean “new” in a state or trade (jeunes mariés).[2][9] Familiar c'est un peu jeune “that's a bit short” dates from 1690.[2] The noun les jeunes, young people as a social group, has become very common.[2]

Timeline

  • Early 12th century – Juvene in the Vie de saint Alexis.[4]
  • c. 1160 – Jeune homme.[2]
  • 1213 – The sense “inexperienced, foolish”.[2][4]
  • 1354–1376 – Used of animals (joenne cerf) and of trees.[4]
  • 15th century – Jeune fille.[2][4]
  • 1536 – Used of age relative to a post or to others.[4][2]
  • 1690 – Un peu jeune “rather insufficient”.[2]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. young: not far advanced in age: être jeune, mourir jeune.[6][10]
  2. Recently become something: jeunes mariés, jeune dans le métier.[1][9]
  3. Having the look or qualities of youth: rester jeune.[4][6]
  4. Younger, the junior of two of the same name: Pline le Jeune.[6]
  5. (familiar) Insufficient, a bit short: c'est un peu jeune.[2]

Noun

  1. A young person, les jeunes: young people, youth.[11][1]
  2. A young animal.[11]

Adverb

  1. S'habiller jeune: to dress in a youthful way.[11]

Usage notes

Jeune must not be confused with jeûne “fast”, from a different Latin word.[4][12]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  3. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ 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
  5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 5, 92b
  6. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  7. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  8. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  9. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  10. ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
  11. ^ a b c Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
  12. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 5, 33a