ostéoporose

Forms

ostéoporose f (plural ostéoporoses)^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from French ostéo- + pore + -ose, from the combining form of Ancient Greek ὀστέον (ostéon, “bone”), the noun pore and the medical suffix -ose.^[2][3][1] The Petit Robert traces the second element directly to Ancient Greek πόρος (póros, “passage”).^[4]

The Grand Robert dates the French word to 1855 and treats it as borrowed from English osteoporosis, which it finds before 1846;^[5] the TLFi and Rey date the French word to 1832, earlier than both.^[2][3] Etymonline dates the English word to 1846 and analyses it in the same way.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded in 1832, in Raymond, as a medical term for an abnormal porousness of the bones.^[2][7]

Semantic evolution

The word began as a technical term of pathology,^[2][7] one of many compounds of ostéo- made in 19th-century medicine.^[3] Rey notes that it has become fairly common in everyday French because of the importance of the disease.^[3] Larousse describes it as very frequent in women after the ménopause, when it exposes them to fractures of the vertebrae and the neck of the femur.^[8]

Timeline

• 1832 – First recorded, in Raymond.^[2][3][9]
• 1846 – The English word osteoporosis is recorded.^[6]
• 1855 – The date the Grand Robert and the Petit Robert give for the French word.^[5][4]
• 1873 – Littré defines it as a medical term for an increase in the porosity of the bones.^[7]

Meanings

Noun

1. (medicine) osteoporosis: a thinning of the bone tissue that makes the bones porous and fragile.^[4][8][10]

Word family

• ostéoporotique

Related words

• os
• pore
• English osteoporosis

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
7. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ a b Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
9. ^ Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
10. ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)