logicien

Forms

logicien m (plural logiciens, feminine logicienne)^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from French logique + -ien, after Late Latin logicus.^[2][3][4] logique comes from Latin logica, from Ancient Greek λογική (logikḗ, “concerning reason”), from λόγος (lógos).^[3]

Littré compares Old Occitan logician.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found about 1245 in Henri d'Andeli's Bataille des Sept Arts, meaning a person versed in logic.^[2][4] The Roman de la Rose has Tu n'es pas bons logiciens “you are no good logician”.^[5]

Semantic evolution

In the old schools a logicien was also a pupil of the class called Logic (Richelet, 1680), now the philosophy class.^[2][6] By extension the word came to mean a person who reasons rigorously (Académie, 1718), and it is used as an adjective from 1721, in Montesquieu's Lettres persanes.^[2][4] In Anglo-Norman an adjective logicien “pertaining to logic” is recorded about 1334.^[7]

Timeline

• c. 1245 – Henri d'Andeli uses it for a person versed in logic.^[2]
• 1680 – Richelet records the sense “pupil of the logic class”.^[2][6]
• 1718 – The Académie records the sense “rigorous reasoner”.^[2]
• 1721 – Montesquieu uses it as an adjective in the Lettres persanes.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A logician, a specialist in logic.^[8][2]
2. (by extension) A person who reasons with method and rigour: raisonner en logicien.^[8][6]
3. (historical) A pupil of the logic class, now the philosophy class.^[6][5]

Adjective

1. Reasoning or proceeding according to the rules of logic.^[2][9]

Related words

• logique
• Latin logicus

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j 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 Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
4. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
6. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
7. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
8. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)