option

Forms

option f (plural options)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin optiō (“choice, free will, assistant officer”),^[2][3][4][5] a noun belonging to the verb optō (“to choose, wish”).^[3][5][1] In the Latin army the word was used concretely of an officer's adjutant chosen by the centurion.^[3][2] Cognate with Old Occitan option and Spanish opción.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded about 1200, in the French Dialogues of Gregory, in the Late Latin sense of a subaltern officer.^[2][3] The Grand Robert and the Petit Robert date it about 1190.^[7][8]

Semantic evolution

The military sense was still alive in the 16th century.^[3] The modern sense “decision, choice” is found from about 1350, in Gilles li Muisis, and the active sense “the act of choosing” from 1411, in Nicolas de Baye's journal.^[2][3] Littré quotes Amyot: Cimon leur donna l'option de choisir lequel ilz voudroient des deux “Cimon gave them the option of choosing which of the two they wanted”.^[6]

The law adopted droit d'option (1765), the right reserved by contract to choose between several things,^[2][3] and on the stock exchange the right to choose, on settlement day, between carrying out and cancelling a deal (1868).^[2][3] In the 20th century it became a term of business: a promise of sale that does not bind the buyer (1918, Claudel), and a conditional order to be confirmed within a set time.^[2][3] In 1969 it came to mean an extra that can be added to a standard model for a supplement.^[2][3] In schooling, matière à option is recorded from 1909.^[9]

The adjective optionnel was formed from it in 1960, after English optional.^[2][3]

Timeline

• c. 1200 – The Dialogues of Gregory use it for a subaltern officer.^[2]
• c. 1350 – Gilles li Muisis uses it for a decision or choice.^[2][3]
• 1411 – Nicolas de Baye uses it for the act of choosing.^[2][3]
• 1765 – The Encyclopédie records droit d'option.^[2]
• 1868 – Littré records the stock-exchange sense.^[2][3]
• 1909 – Matière à option is found in school use.^[9]
• 1918 – Claudel uses it for a promise of sale.^[2][3]
• 1960 – The derivative optionnel appears.^[2]
• 1969 – It names an optional extra on a standard model.^[2][3]

Meanings

Noun

1. The power or act of choosing; a choice: matières à option, subjects among which a candidate may choose.^[8][2]
2. (commerce) An item of equipment not included in the standard model and supplied for an extra charge: en option, as an extra.^[8][2]
3. (law) The power to choose between several legal situations, especially a unilateral promise of sale at a fixed price that does not bind the future buyer: prendre une option, lever l'option.^[8][2]
4. (finance) A conditional forward contract giving the right to call for or abandon a transaction in return for a premium.^[8]

Word family

• optionnel

Related words

• opter
• adopter
• Latin optiō

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t 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 l m n o p Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
5. ^ a b Picoche, Jacqueline (1991), Dictionnaire étymologique du français, Paris: Le Robert (Les Usuels du Robert)
6. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
7. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ a b Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF