jouxte

Forms

jouxte^[1] Old French joste, juste and jouste;^[2][3][4] jouxte is found from the 14th century.^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French joste, inherited from Latin iuxtā (“close by, next to”), remade in the 14th century with the ⟨x⟩ of the Latin word.^{[2][3][5][6][1]} In Latin the word was mainly an adverb under the Republic and later a preposition; in Late and Church Latin it also meant “according to”.^[3][2] Rey places it in the family of iugum (“yoke”);^[3] Littré reports Corssen's view that it was the feminine ablative of a superlative of iugis (“continuous”).^[7]

Cognate with Old Occitan josta and Italian giusta.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found about 1100 in the Chanson de Roland, as juste “close by”: Souz Alixandre ad un port juste mer “below Alexandria there is a harbour by the sea”.^[2][7]

Semantic evolution

The sense “according to” appears about 1314 (jouste, Henri de Mondeville).^[2][3] The spelling jouxte is found in the 14th century, and in 1376 in a legal record of land lying jouxte a wood.^[2]

The spatial sense aged in the 17th century except in legal descriptions of property: Furetière noted in 1690 that it was used only of estates and in legal practice.^[3][2] The sense “according to” survived in law and among printers in jouxte la copie imprimée en tel lieu (1690).^[3][2] Every use is now archaic, though 19th- and 20th-century writers revived “near” as a literary archaism.^[3][2] The related verb jouxter (1376) was likewise remade from Old French joster.^[3]

Timeline

• c. 1100 – Juste “close by” in the Chanson de Roland.^[2]
• c. 1314 – Jouste “according to” in Henri de Mondeville.^[2]
• 1376 – Jouxte in a legal land register.^[2]
• 1690 – Furetière records jouxte la copie imprimée en tel lieu.^[2][3]

Meanings

Preposition

1. (archaic, literary) near, next to, beside.^[2][8][1]
2. (law, printing) According to, in conformity with: jouxte la copie originale.^[2][9][7]

Related words

• jouxter
• jouter
• Latin iuxtā

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 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 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. 5, 96b
7. ^ a b c d Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ 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