opticien

Forms

opticien m (plural opticiens, feminine opticienne)^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from French optique + -ien, the base being the noun for the science of vision.^[2][3][1][4] The noun is ultimately from Ancient Greek ὀπτικός (optikós, “relating to sight”),^[4] whose feminine was used as a noun for the art of seeing.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

About 1640, in a French translation of Comenius's Janua aurea, it named a person versed in optics, opticien ou maistre d'optique.^[2][3] The GLLF dates this record to 1642.^[5]

Semantic evolution

The first sense, someone who knows or teaches the science of optics, was still recorded by the Académie from 1798 to 1878 and is now obsolete.^[2][6] From 1765 (the Encyclopédie) the word named the maker or seller of optical instruments, and today chiefly of spectacles and contact lenses.^[2][7][6] The feminine opticienne is recorded in 1854.^[7][8]

English optician took the sense “maker or seller of optical instruments” from the French word, in 1737.^[9]

Timeline

• c. 1640 – First recorded, for an expert in optics.^[2][7]
• 1737 – English optician follows the French sense “maker of optical instruments”.^[9]
• 1765 – The Encyclopédie uses it for a maker of optical instruments.^[2][5]
• 1854 – The feminine opticienne is recorded.^[7][8]

Meanings

Noun

1. (obsolete) A person who knows or teaches optics.^[2][6]
2. An optician: a person who makes or sells optical instruments, especially glasses and contact lenses: passer chez l'opticien.^[6][10][2]
3. (as an adjective) In ingénieur opticien, an optical engineer.^[6][10][4]

Related words

• optique
• English optician

References

1. ^ a b c 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. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
4. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
5. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
6. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ a b c d Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
10. ^ a b Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)