mander

Forms

mander^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French mander, inherited from Latin mandō (“to entrust, commission, order”).^[2][3][1][4] In imperial and Late Latin the verb also meant “to send word” and “to send for”.^[3][2] Bloch and Wartburg note that it belonged mainly to the written language and may have been taken again from Latin, though it is a common word for “to send, to throw” in the popular speech of the Rhône valley and Provence.^[5][2] Rey finds the old explanation of the Latin verb as manus (“hand”) and dō (“to give”) fitting for the sense, though it requires a change of conjugation.^[3]

Cognate with Italian mandare, Old Occitan mandar, Catalan manar, Spanish mandar and Portuguese mandar.^[6][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the Clermont Passion (about 980) it means “to ask, to command”; the Vie de saint Léger (second half of the 10th century) has it for sending an order to someone and for “to send for”.^[2][3][8]

Semantic evolution

Common in the Middle Ages and in classical French, the verb also meant to summon someone by order (1080) and to let someone know by message or letter (1080), the use typical of classical letter-writing, notably Mme de Sévigné's.^[3][2] The formula mandons et ordonnons opened the royal mandements of the Ancien Régime.^[9][7] Today it is archaic or literary in all its senses.^[3][2]

Its derivatives mandement (about 1120) and mandant (1789) are still used in law.^[3][5]

Timeline

• c. 980 – “To ask, to command” in the Clermont Passion.^[3][2]
• late 10th century – “To send an order” and “to send for” in the Vie de saint Léger.^[2]
• c. 1100 – The Chanson de Roland uses it for summoning and for sending news.^[2]
• c. 1120 – The noun mandement appears.^[3]
• c. 1175 – The compound contremander is recorded.^[3]
• 1789 – Mandant “one who gives a mandate” appears.^[3][5]

Meanings

Verb

1. (dated or literary) To let someone know by letter or message: il me manda la nouvelle.^[9][2]
2. (dated) To summon, to send for someone: le roi manda son ministre.^[9][2][8]
3. (dated) To send someone an order or instruction;^[9][7] mandons et ordonnons, the opening of royal decrees.^[9][7]

Word family

• mandant
• mandement
• contremander

Related words

• commander
• demander
• mandat
• Latin mandō

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k 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 c d e f g h i j k Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 6/1, 148a
5. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
6. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 5286
7. ^ a b c d Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
9. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert