Etymologically
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léger

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /le.ʒe/[1]
  • IPA: /le.ʒe.ʁ‿/[1]

Forms

léger (feminine légère, masculine plural légers, feminine plural légères)[1] Old French legier, léger from the 14th century.[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French legier, from popular Latin inherited from Vulgar Latin *leviārius, derived from levis (“light; of little importance; fickle”).[3][4][5][6][7][1] The form presupposes an intermediate “*levius”, which Old French “liége” attests.[4][1]

Cognate with Old Occitan leugier, Catalan lleuger, Spanish ligero, Portuguese ligeiro and Italian leggiere.[5][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the Chanson de Roland (about 1100) legier means of little weight, of armour: le blanc osberc leger “the light white hauberk”.[3][4] It also meant nimble: cil bachelier leger.[8][4]

Semantic evolution

Senses multiplied in Old French: of low density, of a stone (early 12th century); easy (de legier “easily”, about 1170); easy to bear (about 1165); of little importance (early 13th century).[3] Of a person it meant lacking seriousness (1174) and fickle (early 13th century), now only in matters of love (1573, femme légère).[4] A coin léger lacked its proper weight (1589).[3]

Furetière (1690) records a light meal and a light wind, and Beaumarchais (1775) a faint noise; a light tea or scent is from 1732.[3][4] Que la terre lui soit légère ! is in Furetière (1690), after Ronsard's la terre soit légère à ses os.[2]

Timeline

  • c. 1100 – Legier, Chanson de Roland.[3]
  • c. 1170 – De legier “easily”, Béroul.[3]
  • 1174 – Lacking seriousness.[4]
  • c. 1200 – Légèreté.[5]
  • 1573 – Fickle in love.[4]
  • 1690 – Repas léger, Furetière.[3]
  • 1775 – Bruit léger, Beaumarchais.[3]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. light, not heavy: léger comme une plume, un métal léger.[9][1]
  2. Light, easy to digest: un repas léger; weak: un café léger.[3][4]
  3. Slight, faint: un léger accent, un bruit léger, une blessure légère.[1][3]
  4. nimble, agile: d'un pas léger.[4][9]
  5. Thin, fine, delicate: une étoffe légère, tenue légère.[2][8]
  6. Frivolous, thoughtless, (dated) fickle in love: une femme légère.[4][9]
  7. À la légère: lightly, without thinking.[1][9]

Word family

  • légèrement
  • légèreté
  • chevau-léger
  • superléger
  • ultraléger

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  3. ^ 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
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  6. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  7. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 5, 287a
  8. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  9. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert