mon

Pronunciation

• IPA: /mɔ̃/^[1]
• IPA: /mɔ̃.n‿/^[1]
• IPA: /mɔ.n‿/^[1]
• IPA (Quebec): [mɒ̃ʊ̯̃]^[1]

Forms

mon m (feminine ma, plural mes)^[1] Old French mo (late 10th century), mun (about 1050), subject mes; feminine ma; plural mos, mas, then mes.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French mun, inherited from Late Latin mum, a reduced form (7th century) of meum (“my”), the accusative of the Latin possessive “meus” used unstressed.^[3][4][5][1] The feminine “ma” continues “meam” contracted to “mam”, and the plural “mes” continues “meōs”, “meās” reduced to “mos”, “mas”.^[3] The stressed form mien comes from “meum” in stressed position.^[6] Wiktionary suggests that the form may also have been influenced by Gaulish mon (“my”).^[1]

“Meus” derives from mē, the accusative of “ego”.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Passion de Clermont (late 10th century) has mo as an object form: Vedez mo laz “see my side”.^[2]

Semantic evolution

Elision before a vowel (m'espée “my sword”, 1080) was a feature of Old French, which survives in mamie (m'amie) and m'amour.^[3][2] Mon before a feminine noun beginning with a vowel is found from the end of the 12th century (mon arme, about 1180, mon âme, before 1250) and became the rule.^[3][2] Mon is used in addressing people (mon ami, mon père to a priest, 1657), and in the army before a rank (mon capitaine, 1873).^[7][1]

Timeline

• late 10th century – Mo in the Passion de Clermont.^[2]
• c. 1050 – Mun in the Vie de saint Alexis.^[2]
• 1080 – Elided m'espée in the Chanson de Roland.^[3]
• c. 1180 – Mon before a feminine noun with a vowel.^[3]
• 1873 – Mon before a military rank, in Daudet.^[7]

Meanings

Determiner

1. my: first person singular possessive, masculine or before a vowel; feminine ma, plural mes.^[1][7]
2. My: marks a relation, a group one belongs to or something one does: mon départ, mon village.^[7]
3. In addressing someone: mon ami, mon chéri; in the army, before a rank: mon colonel.^[7][1]

Word family

• mondit
• mononcle

Related words

• ma
• mes
• ta
• tes
• sa
• ses
• notre
• nos
• leur
• mien
• moi
• me
• Latin meus

Usage notes

Old French also had an unrelated affirmative particle mon “certainly” (c'est mon), of uncertain origin.^[8] Diez derived it from Latin munde “purely”.^[8][9]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f 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 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. 6/2, 64b
5. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
7. ^ a b c d e f Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
8. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
9. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)