Etymologically
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militaire

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /mi.li.tɛʁ/[1]

Forms

militaire (plural militaires)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin mīlitāris (“of war, of soldiers; military”), from mīles (“soldier”) (see milice).[2][3][4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Pierre Bersuire's translation of Livy (1352–56) speaks of tribuns militaires, military tribunes, in the sense “belonging to the army”.[2][6]

Semantic evolution

From 1508 it meant what is proper to the army (militaire discipline), whence art militaire (Richelet, 1680), justice militaire (Académie, 1694) and service militaire (Condorcet, 1794).[2][3] From the mid-18th century it qualified what is built or organized for the army: route militaire (1765), école militaire (1790), musique militaire (1801); in 1743 it also meant based on armed force.[2][3]

As a noun it named a soldier from the 17th century (Bossuet, 1663; the DHLF dates it 1658), and le militaire collectively the military, the army as a profession (Rousseau, 1755).[2][3][7] The learned derivatives militarisme (1815) and militariser (1843) were formed in the 19th century.[3]

Timeline

  • 1352–56 – Tribuns militaires, Bersuire.[2]
  • 1508 – Militaire discipline.[2]
  • 1663 – Noun “soldier”, Bossuet.[2]
  • 1743 – “Based on armed force”.[2]
  • 1755 – Le militaire “the army”, Rousseau.[2]
  • 1794 – Service militaire, Condorcet.[2]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. military: of the armed forces or of war: l'art militaire, le service militaire, une opération militaire.[8][1]
  2. Characteristic of soldiers: à l'heure militaire, on the dot.[9]
  3. Based on armed force: un régime militaire.[2][8]

Noun

  1. A soldier, a member of the armed forces: un militaire de carrière.[8][1]
  2. (literary) Le militaire: the military, the army.[3][2]

Word family

  • militairement
  • militarisme
  • militariste
  • militariser
  • démilitariser
  • paramilitaire

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 6/2, 81b
  6. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  7. ^ Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
  8. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  9. ^ Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse