orgueil

Forms

orgueil m (plural orgueils)^[1] Old French orgolz (subject case) and orgoill (oblique case); orgueil is found for both cases from about 1130.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French orgoill, borrowed from Frankish *urgōli (“pride”), a noun derived from an adjective meaning “excellent, renowned”.^[2][4][5][6] The Frankish word is reconstructed from Old Saxon urgōl (“excellent”), Old High German urguol (“outstanding”) and Old English orgel (“pride”).^[2][4][7] Wiktionary traces it, through Vulgar Latin *orgollium, to Proto-West Germanic *uʀgōllju and Proto-Germanic *uzgōljō.^[1]

Cognate with Italian orgoglio, Old Occitan orgolh, Catalan orgull, Spanish orgullo and Portuguese orgulho.^[7][8][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is orgolz in the Passion of the late 10th century, meaning an exaggerated sense of one's own worth.^[2][4] In the Chanson de Roland (about 1100) it also means a cause of pride, and it often carries blame, for overconfidence that leads to rashness and disaster.^[2][4]

Semantic evolution

In Old and Middle French un orgueil could also be an arrogant word or deed, or a presumptuous man.^[4] In the 17th century Furetière still defined it as the first of the deadly sins, but the Cid of Corneille (1637) used it in a good sense, for a justified feeling of one's own dignity.^[2][4] This opened the way to uses such as orgueil national (1782) and to the present state, in which the word can be either blame or praise.^[4]

From the 14th century it was also a technical word for a wedge of wood or stone placed under a lever as its fulcrum.^[2][7][3] Middle English borrowed the French word about 1200, replacing native orgel, and later lost it to pride.^[4]

Timeline

• c. 980 – Orgolz appears in the Passion.^[2][4][3]
• c. 1100 – The Chanson de Roland has the oblique form orgoill, and the sense “cause of pride”.^[2]
• c. 1130 – Orgueil is used for both cases, in the Eneas.^[3]
• 12th century – The derivatives orgueilleux and enorgueillir appear.^[7]
• 1376 – It names a wedge serving as the fulcrum of a lever.^[2]
• 1637 – Corneille uses it in a good sense, for a justified pride.^[2][4]
• 1782 – Orgueil national is recorded.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. pride, arrogance: an excessive opinion of one's own worth, at the expense of others.^[9][2]
2. In a good sense, a justified feeling of one's own dignity, self-respect.^[9][8]
3. A person or thing that one is proud of: être l'orgueil de to be the pride of.^[8][2]
4. (building) A wedge of wood or stone placed under a lever as its fulcrum.^[8][2]

Word family

• orgueilleux
• enorgueillir

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n 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 Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 17, 414b
7. ^ a b c d Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
8. ^ a b c d Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
9. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert