même

Pronunciation

• IPA: /mɛm/^[1]
• IPA: /mɛːm/^[1]

Forms

même (plural mêmes)^[1] Old French medisme, medesme (1050), meïsme (1080), meesme (about 1160), mesme (13th century, 1271); même from the 16th century; the Académie wrote mesme in 1694 and 1718.^[2][3][4][5]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French medesme, inherited from Vulgar Latin *metipsimus, built from the emphatic particle -met, which strengthened personal pronouns (“egomet”, “nosmet”), and the intensive demonstrative ipse (“himself, in person”).^[2][6][4][7] Late Latin often combined both in phrases such as “egomet ipse” “I myself in person”, which gave “metipse” in the 5th century; the pronoun was then dropped and the form strengthened again with the superlative ending “-imus”.^[2][6] Bloch and Wartburg explain the need for this reinforcement at the end of the Empire by the growing use of “ipse” as a demonstrative and an article.^[6] The form “meïsme” may be analogical on a plural “*metissimi”.^[2]

“Metipse” itself survives in Old Occitan medeis and Catalan mateix.^[6] “*metipsimus” gave Italian medesimo, Spanish mismo and Portuguese mesmo.^[6][1] Littré rejected an older derivation from maximus.^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the Vie de saint Alexis (about 1050) it follows a pronoun or noun for emphasis, “very, himself”: A lui medisme “to him himself”.^[5][2]

Semantic evolution

From the first texts même was an emphatic adjective placed after a noun or pronoun to show that the very person or thing is meant; unlike modern usage, it could also be placed before the noun with this sense from about 1121 to the 17th century.^[2][5] The sense of identity, “same”, placed before the noun, is found in the Chanson de Roland (1080).^[3] En même temps dates from before 1678, earlier au même temps (1530).^[3] After a noun of quality it marks that quality to the highest degree (la brutalité même, Scarron, 1651).^[5] The adverb “even” developed later, and de même “likewise” and quand même “all the same” are common phrases.^[1][9]

Timeline

• c. 1050 – Medisme after a pronoun, in the Vie de saint Alexis.^[5]
• 1080 – “Same”, and the form meïsme, in the Chanson de Roland.^[3][2]
• 1271 – The form mesme.^[4]
• 1530 – Au même temps.^[3]
• 16th century – The form même.^[3]
• 1651 – La brutalité même in Scarron.^[5]

Meanings

Adjective

1. same (before the noun): le même jour, en même temps.^[1][9]
2. Very, itself (after the noun or pronoun): ce jour même, lui-même.^[1][5]
3. The very embodiment of (a quality): elle est la bonté même.^[5]

Pronoun

1. Le même, la même: the same one: c'est toujours le même.^[9]

Adverb

1. even: même lui le sait, il n'a même pas répondu.^[1][9]
2. De même: likewise, quand même: all the same, à même: directly on.^[9][1]

Related words

• pareil
• Latin ipse

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 Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ a b c d e f Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
4. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b c d e f g h 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. ^ a b c d e Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
7. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 4, 807b
8. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
9. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert