moyen
Pronunciation
- IPA: /mwa.jɛ̃/[1]
Forms
moyen m (plural moyens)[1] Old French meien (about 1120), moien (about 1175); moyen from the early 14th century.[2][3]
Etymology
It is inherited from Old French meien, inherited from Latin mediānus (“of the middle”),[4][3][5][6] an imperial Latin derivative of medius (“middle”).[4][5] The Petit Robert traces “medius” to the Indo-European root also seen in Ancient Greek μέσος (mésos), German Mitte and English middle.[7] It is a doublet of the borrowing médian.[3][1]
Cognate with Italian mezzano, Occitan mejan, Catalan mitjà, Spanish mediano and Portuguese meão.[7][5]
Earliest recorded meaning
The Oxford Psalter (first half of the 12th century) has meiens clergiez, and the Cambridge Psalter mëens termes for Latin medios terminos: “in the middle”.[4][3]
Semantic evolution
About 1260 the adjective took the sense “between two extremes”: moien aage “middle age” and moiennes gens “people of middle rank”;[4][3] classe moyenne followed in 1815.[4] From 1273 it meant “ordinary, of the usual kind”, and the pejorative “mediocre” appears in the 19th century (1837, Balzac).[4][3] The mathematical nombres moyens is in Oresme (1377), and the grammatical verbes moyens (middle voice) dates from 1655.[4] It was used of intermediate stages of languages (moyen allemand, 1827), and moyen âge “Middle Ages” (1626) adapts Renaissance Latin media aetas.[4][5]
The adjective used as a noun gave moyen “means”, from about 1370: that which serves to reach an end, trouver moyen de, moyen de transport (1813).[3][2] The plural moyens meant “resources, wealth” from 1500 and “abilities” from 1580 (par ses propres moyens).[3] In Quebec, un moyen … can ironically mean “an extraordinary …”.[3][1]
Timeline
- Early 12th century – Meiens in the Oxford Psalter.[4]
- c. 1260 – Moien aage, moiennes gens.[4]
- c. 1370 – The noun “means”.[3]
- 1377 – Nombres moiens in Oresme.[4]
- 1500 – Moyens “resources”.[3]
- 1626 – Moyen âge.[5]
- 1815 – Classe moyenne.[4]
- 1837 – “Mediocre”, in Balzac.[4]
Meanings
Adjective
- Middle, intermediate in position, size or degree: de taille moyenne, cours moyen.[8][9]
- Average, ordinary; calculated as an average: le Français moyen, température moyenne.[2][1]
- Mediocre, only fair.[4][10]
- (grammar) Of the middle voice.[4][11]
- (Quebec, informal) Big, remarkable.[1][3]
Noun
- A means, method or way: la fin justifie les moyens, au moyen de: by means of.[7][1]
- (in the plural) Financial means; abilities: vivre au-dessus de ses moyens, perdre ses moyens.[3][1]
Word family
- moyennement
- moyenner
- meneau
- moyenne
- Moyen Âge
- moyennant
Related words
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o 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
- ^ a b c d e Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
- ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 6/1, 578a
- ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
- ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
- ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
- ^ Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
- ^ Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse