nouvelliste

Forms

nouvelliste m or f by sense (plural nouvellistes)^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from French nouvelle¹ + -iste.^[2][1][3] The Grand Robert and the Petit Robert add that it was modelled on Italian novellista, from novella.^[4][5] The TLFi derives the older sense, “spreader of news”, from the noun meaning “news” and the sense “writer of short stories” from nouvelle² (“short story”), which was borrowed from the Italian word in 1414.^[2][6] Littré notes that the older language had novelier, “fond of novelty”.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in 1620 as an adjective in Étienne Binet's Œuvres spirituelles, in charlatans nouvellistes, “quacks peddling news”; the noun with the same sense appears in Tallemant des Réaux's Historiettes (1657–1690).^[2][6]

Semantic evolution

In the 17th and 18th centuries the nouvelliste was a person eager to collect and spread news, sometimes acting as an informant; the Académie française defined it so in 1694.^[8][9] The Académie added nouvelliste à la main, the writer of handwritten newsletters, in 1798.^[10][8][7] From the early 20th century it also named the journalist in charge of the news (1903 according to Rey, 1907 according to the GLLF), a sense now taken by journaliste.^[6][8] Both the old senses have declined.^[6]

The modern sense, “author of short stories”, is recorded by the TLFi and the GLLF from Baudelaire's essay on Edgar Allan Poe (1852); the Petit Robert dates it from 1640.^[2][8][5]

Timeline

• 1620 – Étienne Binet uses it as an adjective, “peddling news”.^[2][8]
• 1657–1690 – Tallemant des Réaux uses it as a noun.^[2]
• 1694 – The Académie française records it.^[9]
• 1798 – The Académie records nouvelliste à la main.^[10][8]
• 1852 – Baudelaire uses it for a writer of short stories.^[2][8]
• 1907 – The Larousse records it for a journalist in charge of the news.^[8]

Meanings

Noun

1. A writer of nouvelles, short stories, as in cette romancière est aussi une excellente nouvelliste.^{[2][5][11][12]}
2. (historical) Under the Ancien Régime, a person who collected and spread news, an informant; a journalist.^{[2][8][12][5]}
3. Nouvelliste à la main: the writer of handwritten newsletters.^[8][7]

Related words

• nouveau
• Italian novellista

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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. ^ Wiktionnaire (French Wiktionary), fr.wiktionary.org
4. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ a b c d Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
9. ^ a b Académie française (1694), Le Dictionnaire de l'Académie françoise, 1st ed., Paris: Coignard
10. ^ a b Académie française (1798), Dictionnaire de l'Académie française, 5th ed., Paris: Smits
11. ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
12. ^ a b Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)