obèse

Forms

obèse (plural obèses)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin obēsus (“well-fed, fat, plump”).^[2][3][1][4] The Latin word is the past participle of obedō (“to gnaw, eat away”), from ob- and edō (“to eat”).^[5][6][7] Rey explains that the Latin participle properly meant gnawed, hence lean, a very rare sense; in the imperial period it took the opposite, active sense of one who devours, hence fat.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

It was borrowed late, by Brillat-Savarin in 1825, who used it both as a noun and as an adjective for an excessively fat person.^[2][5] The Grand Robert and the GLLF date it 1826.^[6][8]

Semantic evolution

The word is used both in everyday language and in medicine for an abnormally fat person, and by analogy for something unusually large.^[5][8] The noun obésité is much older: it was borrowed from Latin obēsitās in 1550.^[5][3]

Timeline

• 1825 – Brillat-Savarin uses obèse as a noun and an adjective.^[2]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Abnormally fat, obese; in medicine, suffering from obesity.^[9][8][1]
2. By analogy, of a thing: exceptionally big.^[5]

Noun

1. An obese person.^[9][1]

Related words

• obésité
• Latin obēsus

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c 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 Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
4. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 7, 262a
5. ^ a b c d e f Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
9. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert