névrotique

Forms

névrotique (plural névrotiques)^[1]

Etymology

In its modern sense it is from French névrose + -ique.^[2][1][3][4] An older medical adjective of the same form (1764) had been coined on Ancient Greek νεῦρον (neûron, “nerve”), with an ending modelled on the names of remedies such as diurétique.^[2][5] névrose itself was first spelled ⟨neurose⟩ in 1785, from the same Greek word with the suffix -ose.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded in 1764, in Lavoisien's Dictionnaire portatif de médecine, as an epithet for remedies good for the nerves.^[2][6]

Semantic evolution

The GLLF and the Grand Robert date this medical sense from 1793, and Boiste recorded a noun névrotique “remedy for nervous disorders” in 1829.^[5][3] The sense followed that of névrose: in psychoanalysis it is recorded in 1922, in the French translation of Freud's Introduction to Psychoanalysis, though Rey notes it is earlier.^[2][6]

As “relating to a neurosis” it replaced névrosique, recorded by the Académie in 1842; the dictionaries date this sense variously around 1892–1903.^[3][5][4] As a noun it means a person suffering from a neurosis, a synonym of the more usual névrosé.^[2][6]

Timeline

• 1764 – Lavoisien's dictionary uses it of remedies for the nerves.^[2]
• 1785 – Pinel uses neurose, the base noun.^[2]
• 1829 – Boiste records the noun “remedy for nervous disorders”.^[5]
• 1842 – The Académie records névrosique, which névrotique later replaced.^[5][3]
• 1903 – The Larousse records the adjective “relating to neurosis”.^[5]
• 1922 – It is used in the psychoanalytic sense in the translation of Freud.^[2][6]

Meanings

Adjective

1. (psychiatry) Of or relating to a neurosis, neurotic: des troubles névrotiques.^[2][4][5]

Noun

1. (psychoanalysis) A person suffering from a neurosis.^[2]

Related words

• névrose
• névrosé
• psychonévrotique
• Ancient Greek νεῦρον (neûron)

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b c d e f g Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
6. ^ a b c d Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert