occuper

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ɔ.ky.pe/^[1]

Forms

occuper^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin occupō (“to seize first; to take possession of”), taken over about 1180; the Latin verb is formed from ob- (“before”) and capiō (“to take”) (see capter).^[2][3][4][5] In Latin it meant “to take before others”, hence “to forestall” and “to seize”; in the passive, “to be taken up by”.^[2] Old French also used it in law for “to seize, accuse” someone.^[4]

Cognate with Occitan occupar, Spanish ocupar and Italian occupare.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found about 1180–1200 in the passive estre occupé à “to be busy with, spend one's time on”, in the Dialogues of Gregory.^[7][2]

Semantic evolution

The reflexive s'occuper à appears about 1330, occuper quelqu'un à “to employ” in 1360–1404, and occupé “busy” in 1538.^[7] The concrete senses followed: “to take a place by force” (1306), “to take possession of a property” (1355), “to fill a space” (1314), “to live in” (1530) and “to hold (a post)” (1530).^[7]

In the 17th century s'occuper meant to fill one's time (Racine, 1677), and s'occuper de appeared in 1680; at the end of the 18th century it took the shade “to worry about”, largely taken over by se préoccuper, and it now means above all “to take care of, deal with”.^[2][7]

Timeline

• c. 1180 – Estre occupé à.^[2][7]
• 1306 – Military occupation of a place.^[7]
• 1314 – “To fill (a space)”, in Henri de Mondeville.^[7]
• c. 1330 – S'occuper à.^[7]
• 1530 – “To live in” and “to hold (a post)”.^[7]
• 1677 – S'occuper in Racine's Phèdre.^[7]
• 1680 – S'occuper de.^[2]

Meanings

Verb

1. To take possession of, occupy a place: occuper un pays, occuper l'usine.^[8]
2. To fill, take up space or time: son atelier occupe la cave.^[8][1]
3. To live in: occuper un appartement; to hold a post.^[8][7]
4. To keep busy, employ: occuper les enfants.^[1][7]
5. S'occuper: to keep oneself busy, s'occuper de: to take care of, deal with.^[1][2]

Word family

• occupé
• inoccupé
• réoccuper

Related words

• occupation
• préoccuper
• capter
• Latin occupō

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 7, 300b
6. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l 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
8. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert