Etymologically
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mode

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Pronunciation

Forms

mode f (plural modes)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin modus (“measure; manner, way, (in music) mode, (in grammar) mood”),[2][3][4][5] first as a feminine noun because of its ending in “-e”;[2][3] the masculine was reintroduced from the mid-15th century, probably under Latin influence, for technical senses (grammar, music, philosophy).[2][4][1] Rey explains that “modus” belongs to the group of medeor (“to heal”), from a root meaning “to take appropriate measures”.[3][6]

Old and Middle French also had an inherited form muef, “moeuf”, for the grammatical and musical senses.[2][4][1] Italian moda and Spanish moda “fashion” come from French.[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Ménagier de Paris (about 1393) has poucins à la mode lombarde, chicken “in the Lombard way”, the sense “collective way of living, proper to a country or a period”.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

This sense survives in à la mode de: neveu à la mode de Bretagne (d'Aubigné, 1619) “first cousin once removed”, bœuf à la mode (1651) and tripes à la mode de Caen.[2][3][8] From 1452 it was also an individual's way of doing things (à sa mode), still regional.[2][3] The usual modern sense, the passing collective taste in dress and appearance, appears in 1480 (s'abiller a mode nouvelle), with à la mode (1549) and passer de mode (1747);[2][3] marchande de modes (1692) refers to women's clothing, and la mode to the fashion trade (1860).[2]

As a masculine noun, le mode is a grammatical mood (1550, first feminine; masculine in Cotgrave, 1611), a musical mode (Amyot, 1547; d'Aubigné's mode Dorien, 1598), a philosophical mode (Descartes, 1647) and a form of action (mode de vie, 1797, mode d'emploi, 1872).[2][9] English took mode from French and Latin.[6]

Timeline

  • c. 1393 – À la mode lombarde in the Ménagier de Paris.[2]
  • 1480 – S'abiller a mode nouvelle in Coquillart.[2]
  • 1549 – À la mode.[3]
  • 1598 – Le mode dorien (masculine) in d'Aubigné.[2]
  • 1611 – The grammatical mode as a masculine, in Cotgrave.[2]
  • 1651 – Bœuf à la mode.[2]
  • 1692 – Marchande de modes.[2]
  • 1872 – Mode d'emploi.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (feminine) Fashion, vogue: à la mode, suivre la mode, passé de mode.[8][10]
  2. (feminine) The fashion trade; women's clothing: travailler dans la mode.[2][10]
  3. (feminine) Way, manner: à la mode de chez nous, cousin à la mode de Bretagne.[8][11]
  4. (masculine) A mode, form, method: mode de vie, mode d'emploi, mode de paiement.[10][2]
  5. (masculine, grammar) A mood: le mode subjonctif.[8][10]
  6. (masculine, music) A mode: mode majeur, mineur.[8][2]

Word family

  • modiste
  • démodé
  • modal
  • modalité
  • modèle
  • démodé
  • modiste

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 n o p q r s t 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 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. 6/3, 19b
  6. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  7. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  8. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  9. ^ 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 Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
  11. ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)