Etymologically
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loi

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Pronunciation

Forms

loi f (plural lois)[1] Old French lei (about 980), loi (12th century); the Académie wrote loy in 1694 and 1718.[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French lei, inherited from Latin lēx (“religious law; law; contract”), from its accusative “lēgem”.[3][2][4][5][6][1] Rey explains that “lex” rested on the idea of an express agreement, unlike “jus” (formulated right) and “mos”, “consuetudo” (custom); church Latin used it for the law of Moses and of the Lord, and the word regained a religious sense that passed into Romance beside the legal one.[2] An Italic word with counterparts in Indo-Iranian, it may belong to the root of legō (“to gather; to read”) (see lire); Littré thought the origin obscure, noting that Latin etymologists linked it with ligō (“to bind”).[2][7]

Cognate with Romanian lege, Italian legge, Old Occitan lei, Catalan llei, Spanish ley and Portuguese lei.[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the Passion of Clermont (end of the 10th century) comuna lei is a rule applying to all, in a religious context; the Vie de saint Léger (second half of the 10th century) has lei for the rule imposed by God, religion.[3] The Chanson de Roland has la lei de chrestiens, the Christian faith.[7]

Semantic evolution

Lei de terre (about 1120) is the law of a people issuing from a sovereign authority; a written act sanctioned by public force is in the Lois de Guillaume (about 1130), and an unwritten custom in Guernes de Pont-Sainte-Maxence (1174–76).[3] Cotgrave (1611) has homme de loi.[3] Since the Reformation la loi also names the old law of Moses, after the language of the Bible.[4] Molière's lois de Vaugelas (1672) are the rules of grammar, and c'est la loi et les prophètes (Nicole, 1665) means an indisputable truth.[3][9] The scientific sense, a constant relation between phenomena, is modern: lois de la nature, loi de la pesanteur.[10][1]

Timeline

  • late 10th century – Lei, Passion.[3]
  • c. 1120 – Lei de terre.[3]
  • c. 1130 – A written law, Lois de Guillaume.[3]
  • 12th century – The form loi.[2]
  • 1611 – Homme de loi, Cotgrave.[3]
  • 1665 – La loi et les prophètes.[9]
  • 1672 – Les lois de Vaugelas, Molière.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A law, a rule made by the sovereign authority of a society: voter une loi, projet de loi, nul n'est censé ignorer la loi.[10][11]
  2. The law, the body of laws: hors la loi, homme de loi, avoir force de loi.[1][3]
  3. A rule of conduct, an obligation: les lois de l'honneur, faire la loi, to lay down the law.[10][1]
  4. Religious law: la loi de Moïse, sans foi ni loi.[4][1]
  5. A scientific law, a constant relation between phenomena: loi de la gravitation.[1][10]
  • légal
  • législatif
  • législation
  • légitime
  • loyal
  • aloi
  • Latin lēx

Usage notes

A separate loi (1611, lays, 1273), a form of aloi, is the legal standard of fineness of coins.[5][10][7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e 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 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. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 5, 291b
  7. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  8. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  9. ^ a b Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
  10. ^ a b c d e 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)