opinion

Forms

opinion f (plural opinions)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin opīniō (“conjecture, belief, idea one forms of a thing”),^[2][3] a derivative of opīnor (“to think, suppose”), which gave the verb opiner.^[2][4][5] In Latin the word rendered the philosophical sense of Ancient Greek δόξα (dóxa) and, for want of a noun from crēdō (“to believe”), took the sense “belief”, often an imaginary or mistaken one; it also came to mean “reputation”, like fāma.^[5]

Cognate with Old Occitan opinio, Spanish opinión and Italian opinione.^[6][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The earliest record, in the Dialogues of Saint Gregory translated about 1200, uses it for the feeling or view one has of something.^[2][8] Brunetto Latini's Trésor (13th century) already sets opinions “of truth or of falsehood” against choice.^[6]

Semantic evolution

In Old French the word named a person's intellectual position in a given field (about 1283), and for a time a hypothesis or theory (1314), before it came to be kept out of science.^[5] The sense of a judgement of worth passed on someone or something dates from about 1265, with the phrases avoir mauvaise opinion (1580) and avoir bonne opinion de quelqu'un or de soi (1656, Molière).^[5][8] In Middle French law it was the view a member gave in a deliberation (15th century).^[5]

From the 16th century the word took a collective value, the ideas shared by a group (1563): opinion publique appears in Montaigne about 1590, and l'opinion used alone in 1762.^[5][2] The 20th century added liberté d'opinion (1936) and délit d'opinion (1959).^[8][5]

Timeline

• c. 1200 – First recorded in the Dialogues of Saint Gregory.^[2]
• c. 1265 – Used of a judgement of worth on someone.^[5][8]
• 1314 – Found in the sense “hypothesis”.^[5]
• 1538 – Robert Estienne records it as a good or bad judgement on a person or thing.^[2]
• c. 1590 – Opinion publique in Montaigne's Essais.^[2][5]
• 1656 – Avoir bonne opinion de soi in Molière.^[8]
• 1762 – L'opinion used alone for public opinion.^[5]
• 1936 – Liberté d'opinion recorded.^[8][5]

Meanings

Noun

1. An opinion, a personal way of thinking or judgement on a question, which may be mistaken.^[9][10][2]
2. A view given in a deliberation or a debate.^[6][10]
3. Avoir bonne (or mauvaise) opinion de: to think well (or badly) of someone or something.^[10][5]
4. Opinions (plural): a person's convictions, especially political or religious ones.^[9][5]
5. L'opinion, l'opinion publique: the ideas and attitudes that prevail in a society, public opinion.^[10][5]

Related words

• opiner
• opiniâtre
• inopiné
• Latin opīniō

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h 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. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 7, 373a
4. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
7. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
8. ^ a b c d e f 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
10. ^ a b c d Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)