Etymologically
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meilleur

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /mɛ.jœʁ/[1]
  • IPA: /me.jœʁ/[1]

Forms

meilleur (feminine meilleure, masculine plural meilleurs, feminine plural meilleures)[1] Old French had a subject case mieldre, mieudre (late 10th century) and an object case meillor (1080); the latter, as meilleur from the early 13th century, replaced both.[2][3][4][5]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French meillor, inherited from Latin melior (“better”), accusative “meliōrem”, the comparative of bonus (“good”).[2][3][6][7][1] Rey takes “melior” to be built on the same root as multus (“much”), with a first sense “bigger, stronger”.[3] Littré, after Corssen, compared Ancient Greek μάλα (mála, “very”).[5]

Cognate with Italian migliore, Occitan melhor, Catalan millor, Spanish mejor and Portuguese melhor.[8][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The subject case mieldre is found in the second half of the 10th century in the Vie de saint Léger, as the comparative of bon; the object case meillor appears in the Chanson de Roland (about 1100).[2][3]

Semantic evolution

From about 1050 it was also the superlative of bon (le meilleur), and about 1100 it was used as a noun for the best people.[2][3] Le meilleur “the best part” is in Chrétien de Troyes (avoir le meilleur “to get the upper hand”, about 1170), and pour le meilleur dates from 1377.[2] The impersonal il fera meillor + infinitive is from about 1165, and il fait meilleur of the weather is recorded by Larousse in 1873, though some purists condemn it.[2][3] Avoir meilleur temps de “to be better off doing” is Swiss French (1727).[3]

Timeline

  • 2nd half of the 10th century – Mieldre in the Vie de saint Léger.[2]
  • c. 1050 – Superlative le meilleur, in the Vie de saint Alexis.[2]
  • c. 1100 – Meillor in the Chanson de Roland.[2]
  • c. 1170 – Avoir le meilleur in Chrétien de Troyes.[2]
  • Early 13th century – The form meilleur.[9][4]
  • 1873 – Il fait meilleur, in Larousse.[2]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. better (comparative of bon): un monde meilleur, meilleur marché.[10][4]
  2. Le meilleur: the best: mon meilleur ami.[2][1]

Adverb

  1. Il fait meilleur: the weather is better, sentir meilleur: to smell better.[10]

Noun

  1. Le meilleur: the best part, the best one: garder le meilleur pour la fin.[2][1]
  2. Pour le meilleur et pour le pire: for better or for worse.[2]

Usage notes

Plus bon is not used for “better”, except where plus is separated from the adjective.[3] The adverb corresponding to meilleur is mieux.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  5. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  6. ^ 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. 6/1, 665b
  8. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  9. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  10. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert