leçon

Pronunciation

• IPA: /lə.sɔ̃/^[1]

Forms

leçon f (plural leçons)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin lēctiō (“gathering; reading; text”), from its accusative, a derivative of the supine of legō (“to gather; to read”) (see lire).^[2][3][4][5] Wiktionary notes that, according to the TLFi, the Old French word was an early borrowing, a semi-learned term.^[1][2] Bloch and Wartburg simply give the Latin accusative as its source.^[6]

Compare Italian lezione, Spanish lección and Catalan lliçó.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its first sense, in the Couronnement de Louis (about 1135), is liturgical: a text of Scripture or of the Fathers read or sung at the night offices, as in the later leçons de ténèbres.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

Geoffrey Gaimar (about 1140) uses it for the reading of a text, and Eneas (about 1160) for the teaching given by a master.^[2][3] At the end of the 12th century it was what a pupil must learn and recite, today's usual sense;^[2][3] leçon particulière, a private lesson, is in Flaubert (1845).^[2][3]

From the end of the 12th century it also meant a rule of conduct, or ironically a punishment (Raoul de Cambrai: t'aprenderoie ici pesme leçon).^[2][3] Faire la leçon à quelqu'un passed from “to dictate someone's conduct” (Des Périers, 1558) to “to lecture, reprimand” (1690–1754).^[8][3][2] Molière (1668) has it for the lesson drawn from an event, and Richelet (1680) for the reading of a text in a given manuscript or edition, a variant.^[2][3]

Timeline

• c. 1135 – A liturgical reading, in the Couronnement de Louis.^[2]
• c. 1140 – The reading of a text, in Gaimar.^[2]
• c. 1160 – A master's teaching, in Eneas.^[2]
• Late 12th century – What a pupil must learn, in Floire et Blancheflor.^[2]
• 1558 – Faire la leçon à, in Des Périers.^[8]
• 1668 – The lesson of an event, in Molière.^[2]
• 1680 – A textual variant, in Richelet.^[2]
• 1845 – Leçon particulière, in Flaubert.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A lesson: what a pupil must learn: réviser ses leçons.^[9][10]
2. A lesson given by a teacher: une leçon d'histoire, leçon particulière, leçon inaugurale, an inaugural lecture.^[11][10]
3. A lesson drawn from experience; a warning.^[3][10]
4. Faire la leçon à quelqu'un: to lecture someone, donner une leçon à quelqu'un, to teach someone a lesson.^[3][2]
5. (liturgy) A lection, a reading at matins: leçons de ténèbres.^[10][3]
6. (philology) A reading, a variant in a manuscript or edition.^[3][2]

Related words

• lecture
• lire
• Latin lēctiō
• English lesson

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 n o p q r 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 l Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 5, 234a
6. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
7. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ a b Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
9. ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
10. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
11. ^ Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)