juxtaposition

Forms

juxtaposition f (plural juxtapositions)^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from French juxta- + position.^[2][3][4][5] Etymonline gives the first part as Latin iuxtā (“beside, close to”).^[6]

English juxtaposition (1660s) comes from the French word.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Descartes used it about 1636 (in a text printed in 1664) for the growth of inorganic bodies by new particles laid one after another on a core.^[2][4] The Grand Robert dates the word from the 1664 edition and calls the date 1636 uncertain.^[3]

Semantic evolution

The general sense, the act of placing one thing beside another, appears in Rousseau's article on political economy in the Encyclopédie (1755).^[2][3] In grammar it has meant from 1840 the joining of parts of speech without a conjunction, the Académie recording it in 1842.^[2][4] By metonymy it also names the thing so formed, a set of things placed side by side.^[2]

Timeline

• c. 1636 – Descartes uses it of the growth of inorganic bodies.^[2][4]
• 1660s – English juxtaposition is first recorded.^[6]
• 1755 – Rousseau uses the general sense.^[2][3]
• 1840 – First grammatical use.^[2][4]

Meanings

Noun

1. The act of placing things side by side, or the result: la juxtaposition de deux couleurs.^[2][5]
2. (grammar) The joining of clauses or words without a conjunction, parataxe.^[2][5][4]
3. (physics, dated) The growth of inorganic bodies by the addition of new layers at their surface.^[7][2]

Related words

• juxtaposer
• position
• English juxtaposition

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k 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 c d e f Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
5. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
7. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette