monolithe

Forms

monolithe m (plural monolithes)^[1] First spelled monolythe (1532).^[2][3]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Late Latin monolithus (“made of a single stone”), which is from Ancient Greek μονόλιθος (monólithos), from μόνος (mónos, “alone, single”) and λίθος (líthos, “stone”).^[2][4][5][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded in 1532 as an adjective, in an account book of Saint-Denis that mentions a goblet made of a single piece of agate.^[2][3] Rey gives the date 1552.^[6]

Semantic evolution

The word was rare before the 19th century: Boiste took it up in 1803 for architectural works cut from one block of stone.^[2][7][6] Used as a noun, it named in 1813 a monument made of a single stone,^[2][3] and it came to mean any very large stone in 1865.^[6] In mountain geography it names a huge block of rock, recorded from 1926.^[8]

By extension the adjective was applied to anything made in one massive piece, and to materials such as concrete with the cohesion of a single block, and figuratively to what is rigid and without nuance.^[2] The derivatives monolithique (1868) and monolithisme (1864) developed a figurative political sense in the 20th century, at first neutral and later pejorative.^[6][2] English monolith (1829) was taken from the French word.^[9]

Timeline

• 1532 – An account book of Saint-Denis has monolythe for a goblet of agate.^[2][3]
• 1803 – Boiste records it in architecture.^[2][7]
• 1813 – Gattel records the noun for a monument of a single stone.^[2][3]
• 1829 – English monolith appears.^[9]
• 1865 – Used for a very large stone.^[6]
• 1868 – Monolithique is first recorded.^[2][6]

Meanings

Adjective

1. (architecture) Made of a single large block of stone, as a column or lintel.^[10][11][12]
2. Cut out of the rock, as a rock-cut church.^[3][12]
3. Made in a single massive piece, or with the cohesion of a single block.^[2]
4. (figurative) All of a piece, rigid and without nuance.^[2]

Noun

1. A monument made of a single stone, a monolith.^[10][11][3]
2. A very large stone, or a mass of rock left standing by erosion.^[10][12][8]

Word family

• monolithique
• monolithisme

Related words

• mégalithe
• Ancient Greek μονόλιθος (monólithos)

References

1. ^ a b 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 g h Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
4. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
5. ^ 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. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ a b Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
9. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
10. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
11. ^ a b Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
12. ^ a b c Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)