musique
Pronunciation
Forms
musique f (countable and uncountable, plural musiques)[1]
Etymology
It is borrowed from Latin mūsica (“music”), from Ancient Greek μουσική (mousikḗ, “the art of the Muses”) (with “tékhnē” “art” understood), the feminine of μουσικός (mousikós, “of the Muses”), from Μοῦσα (Moûsa, “Muse”).[2][3][4][5][6] The Muses, led by Apollo, sang at the banquets of the gods.[3] Wiktionary takes the French word as inherited, through Old French “musique”.[1]
Cognate with Romanian muzică, Italian musica, Spanish música and German Musik.[7]
Earliest recorded meaning
In the Roman de Thèbes (about 1150) par la gamme chante musique: the art of combining musical sounds.[2][3] The GLLF and the Grand Robert date it to about 1130, in Eneas.[5][8]
Semantic evolution
From the 15th century it named a kind of composition: musique instrumentale, musique d'église is in Rousseau (1785) and musique de chambre, after the Italian, in George Sand (1855).[2][3] From the 16th century it meant a group of musicians (1553), later ousted by orchestre except for a band (1860) and en avant la musique!; a performance (1636), replaced by concert; and written notation (1669), as in papier à musique, whence réglé comme du papier à musique (1690).[3][2]
It is used of any pleasing or (ironically) unpleasing sound (la musique d'un asne, 1560–65), of the music of language (before 1778, Voltaire) and in connaître la musique “to know the score” (1880).[2][3] Grande musique “classical music” is found in 1889.[9][3] In Belgium, Switzerland and Quebec musique à bouche is a harmonica.[3] Montesquieu (1748) uses the word for the whole of the Greek education of the mind.[8][5]
Timeline
- c. 1150 – Roman de Thèbes.[2]
- 15th century – Musique instrumentale.[2]
- 1553 – A group of musicians; a musical work.[2]
- 1669 – Note de musique.[2]
- 1690 – Mettre en musique, papier de musique.[2]
- 1855 – Musique de chambre, George Sand.[2]
- 1880 – Connaître la musique.[2]
- 1889 – Grande musique.[9]
Meanings
Noun
- music: the art of combining sounds; its productions: écouter de la musique, musique classique.[7][1]
- Written music, notation: lire la musique, papier à musique.[2][3]
- A band, especially a military one: la musique du régiment.[3][2]
- Harmony of sounds in language or nature: la musique d'un vers.[2][3]
- (familiar) Connaître la musique: to know the score, c'est toujours la même musique: it's the same old story.[3]
Word family
- musical
- musicien
- musiquette
Related words
- muse
- musée
- Latin mūsica
References
- ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ 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 f g h i j k l Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
- ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
- ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
- ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 6/3, 263b
- ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
- ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
- ^ a b Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF