lettre

Pronunciation

• IPA: /lɛtʁ/^[1]

Forms

lettre f (plural lettres)^[1] Old French letre.^[2][1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French letre, inherited from Latin littera (“letter of the alphabet; in the plural, a missive, a writing, literature”).^{[3][2][4][5][1]} The Latin senses “missive”, “written work” and “culture” were calqued on Ancient Greek γράμματα (grámmata).^[2][3] As the Latin alphabet came from Greek through Etruscan, “littera” itself may be of Greek origin; ancient glosses suggest Ancient Greek διφθέρα (diphthéra, “prepared hide”), used for writing, but this cannot be proved.^[2]

Cognate with Italian lettera, Occitan letra, Catalan lletra, Spanish letra and Portuguese letra.^[6][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in the second half of the 10th century in the Vie de saint Léger as letres, meaning the learning that comes from the study of books.^[3][2]

Semantic evolution

The main senses were all in use before the end of the 12th century.^[2] A letter of the alphabet is in Wace (1130–1140), and a typeface from 1486.^[3] About 1160 the word meant an inscription, and about 1170 the literal sense of a text, from Saint Paul's “the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life”, à la lettre is Jean de Meun's (1275–1280).^[3][4]

A missive was les lettres in the plural, as in Latin (Marie de France, about 1170), and an official act lettres from 1234.^[3][4] Learning in the humanist sense flourished in the 16th century: homme de lettres is Montaigne's (1580) and belles-lettres dates from 1666.^[3][2] Avant la lettre, first said of a print before the inscription (1794), was used figuratively by the Goncourts in 1858.^[3][8]

Timeline

• Late 10th century – Letres “learning”, in the Vie de saint Léger.^[3]
• 1130–1140 – A letter of the alphabet, in Wace.^[3]
• c. 1170 – A missive, and the literal sense, in Marie de France.^[3]
• 1234 – An official act.^[3]
• 1275–1280 – À la lettre, in Jean de Meun.^[3]
• 1580 – Homme de lettres, in Montaigne.^[3]
• 1666 – Belles-lettres.^[2]
• 1858 – Avant la lettre, figurative, in the Goncourts.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. A letter of the alphabet; a typeface: en toutes lettres.^[1][3]
2. A letter, written message: écrire une lettre, boîte aux lettres.^[1]
3. The literal sense: à la lettre, au pied de la lettre, lettre morte: a dead letter.^[1][3]
4. Les lettres: literature, the humanities: homme de lettres, lettres classiques.^[3][1]
5. An official document: lettre de change, lettre de créance, lettre de cachet.^[1]
6. Avant la lettre: before the term existed.^[3][8]

Word family

• lettré
• illettré
• contre-lettre
• belles-lettres

Related words

• allitération
• bilitère
• littéraire
• littéral
• trilitère
• littérature
• Latin littera

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s 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 Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 5, 377a
6. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
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