néolithique

Forms

néolithique (plural néolithiques)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from English Neolithic, coined in 1865 by the prehistorian John Lubbock.^[2][3][4] The TLFi and the GLLF analyse the French word as formed from néo- and -lithique after the English model.^[5][6][7] The parts go back to Ancient Greek νέος (néos, “new”) and λίθος (líthos, “stone”).^[8][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded as an adjective in 1866, in Lubbock's L'Homme avant l'histoire, for the later period of the Stone Age.^[5][3]

Semantic evolution

The word names the most recent part of what was called the Stone Age, the age of polished stone, coming after the Paleolithic and Mesolithic.^[2][7] The GLLF characterizes it by polished stone tools and the growing of cereals, between the Mesolithic and the age of metals.^[6] It was used as a masculine noun, le néolithique, for the period itself from 1902, and as a noun for a person of that time from 1963.^[5][6]

Timeline

• 1865 – Lubbock coins English Neolithic.^[2][3]
• 1866 – First French record, as an adjective, in Lubbock's L'Homme avant l'histoire.^[5][6]
• 1902 – Used as a noun at an international congress of anthropology.^[5][6]
• 1963 – The Larousse records it as a noun for a person of the period.^[6]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Relating to the Neolithic, the age of polished stone, the most recent period of the Stone Age: des outils néolithiques.^[5][7]

Noun

1. Le néolithique: the Neolithic period.^[7][5]
2. A person who lived in the Neolithic.^[6]

Related words

• paléolithique
• mésolithique
• néo-
• -lithique

Usage notes

As the name of the period it is often written with a capital, le Néolithique.^[1]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ Wiktionnaire (French Wiktionary), fr.wiktionary.org
5. ^ a b c d e f g 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
6. ^ 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
7. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette