Etymologically
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opter

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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
  • 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