Etymologically
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liste

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Pronunciation

Forms

liste f (plural listes)[1]

Etymology

The modern word is borrowed from Italian lista (“strip, border; list of names”) (late 13th century in Italian),[2][3][4] which comes from a Germanic word for “border, strip”,[2][5] Proto-West Germanic *lista,[5][6] seen in German Leiste (“border, strip”), English list and Dutch lijst.[2][7] The sense “list of names” grew out of “strip”, perhaps because names were first written in columns along the border of a page.[4][2]

The same Germanic word had given Old French liste (“border, band”) (about 1150), which survives as a horse breeder's term (see Usage notes) and in liteau.[2][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record in this sense is in 1567, in a text on municipal law (Espinas), for a series of names written one after another;[8][2] Bloch and Wartburg date it to 1587.[4]

Semantic evolution

By the late 16th century liste also meant an enumeration, often a long one (d'Aubigné's une grande liste de crimes).[2][7] Liste noire (1702) is a calque of English black list (1692),[2] and liste civile (late 17th century) translates English civil list, the sum granted to the English king after 1688;[2] it was later used of the French president's allowance (1873).[2] With the Revolution came scrutin de liste (1789), and electoral lists of candidates followed.[2][8] Wedding lists (liste de mariage) are recorded in 1968.[8]

The verb lister (about 1920) and listage (about 1950), old formations on the Old French liste “border”, were revived under English influence, especially in computing, where listing (1953) is also used.[2]

Timeline

  • c. 1150 – Old French liste “border”, in the Roman de Thèbes.[5]
  • 1567 – Liste “series of names”.[8][2]
  • Late 17th century – Liste civile.[2]
  • 1702 – Liste noire.[2]
  • 1789 – Scrutin de liste.[2]
  • c. 1920 – The verb lister.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A list: a series of names, words or signs written one below another: dresser une liste, liste alphabétique.[9][10]
  2. A long enumeration: la liste de ses crimes.[10][8]
  3. (elections) The candidates of one party: liste bloquée.[10]
  4. Liste noire: a blacklist.[9][5]
  5. Liste civile: the allowance of a head of state.[2][8]
  6. Liste de mariage: a wedding gift list.[5][8]

Word family

  • lister
  • listage
  • colistier
  • liteau
  • listel
  • Italian lista
  • English list

Usage notes

An older word liste (about 1150, “border, band”), inherited from the Germanic source, is now only a term of horse breeding for a white stripe on a horse's face (1600, Olivier de Serres).[5][9][7]

References

  1. ^ a b 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  3. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c d Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  5. ^ a b c d e f 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
  6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 16, 469b
  7. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  8. ^ a b c d e f g Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  9. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  10. ^ a b c Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)