mollir

Forms

mollir^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from French mou + -ir, from the older form mol of the adjective.^[2][3][4] Wiktionary allows also a direct origin in Latin molliō (“to soften”),^[1] which Littré gives as its source, the Latin verb being from mollis (“soft”).^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded in the second half of the 13th century in a Liège medical text, transitively, meaning “to make soft”.^[2][6] The Anglo-Norman Dictionary records it from the middle of the 13th century, meaning to soften or relax.^[7]

Semantic evolution

The transitive verb had both a physical sense, “to soften”, and a moral one, “to weaken, make someone yield” (Ronsard, 1555, who in 1552 already wrote mollis un peu le roc de ton courage).^[6][2] From 1462 it was also used intransitively, “to become soft”, and in the 17th century “to give way, lack firmness” (Molière, 1669) and “to lose strength, falter” (Boileau, 1683).^[2][6]

Sailors used it from 1691 for easing off a taut rope, and later for the wind dying down.^[2][5] Familiar usage took it for “to flag, slow down” (1842).^[6] It remains less common than its prefixed forms amollir and especially ramollir.^[6]

Timeline

• 2nd half of the 13th century – Used transitively for “to make soft” in a Liège medical text.^[2]
• 1462 – Villon uses it intransitively, “to become soft”.^[2][6]
• 1555 – Ronsard uses it for “to make yield”.^[2]
• 1599 – The noun mollissement is first recorded.^[2]
• 1669 – Molière's Tartuffe has it for “to give way”.^[2]
• 1683 – Boileau uses it for “to falter”.^[2]
• 1691 – The nautical sense, easing a rope, is recorded.^[2]
• 1820 – Mollir la barre is recorded.^[2]

Meanings

Verb

1. (intransitive, rare) To become soft, la cire mollit au soleil.^[8][2]
2. (intransitive) To lose strength, to weaken, ses genoux mollissaient.^[8][9][10]
3. (nautical) Of the wind, to abate or lose its force.^[8][5]
4. (figurative) To begin to yield, to give up one's resolve, to waver.^[8][9]
5. (transitive, nautical) To slacken a rope.^[8][3]
6. (transitive, obsolete) To make soft.^[8][3]

Word family

• mollissement

Related words

• amollir
• ramollir
• mou
• mouiller
• mollesse
• Latin molliō

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 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ 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. ^ a b c d e f Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
8. ^ a b c d e f Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ a b Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
10. ^ Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)