opter

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ɔp.te/^[1]

Forms

opter^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin optō (“to examine; to choose; to wish”),^[2][3][4][5] a word little represented in the Romance languages.^[3] Rey describes it as the frequentative of an unattested “*opiare” “to choose”, a trace of which seems to survive in a gloss; comparisons with Hittite and Slavic words have been proposed, but no Indo-European family emerges.^[3] Littré linked it with Latin apīscor (“to reach, get”) and aptus.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Journal of Nicolas de Baye (1411) has it in the sense “to choose”.^[2][3][7]

Semantic evolution

The verb has always expressed choosing between several persons or things that exclude one another, often in law (opter pour la nationalité française).^[3][8] The Latin sense “to wish” appears in Rabelais (1552) but did not survive past 1611.^[3][6] Proust uses it in jest for a trivial choice of dessert.^[7]

The noun option, borrowed in 1200 in the Latin military sense “adjutant”, has meant “choice” since 1350, droit d'option dates from 1765, and in the 20th century it became a term of trade (1918) and of the motor industry (1969).^[3][4]

Timeline

• 1200 – Option “adjutant”.^[3]
• 1350 – Option “choice”.^[3]
• 1411 – Opter in Nicolas de Baye.^[2]
• 1552 – “To wish”, in Rabelais.^[3][6]
• 1765 – Droit d'option.^[3]

Meanings

Verb

1. To opt, choose (between alternatives): opter pour une solution, opter entre deux partis.^[9][1]

Word family

• option
• optionnel

Related words

• adopter
• coopter
• optatif
• Latin optō
• English opt

References

1. ^ a b c 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 c d e f g h i j k Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, 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, 378b
6. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
7. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
8. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert