ouï-dire

Forms

ouï-dire m (invariable)^[1] Old French oïr dire, in par oïr dire; oï dire (13th century); Middle French oyr-dire.^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is formed from French ouïr + dire, originally with the infinitive: the Old French phrase was par oïr dire “by hearing say”.^[2][3][5][6] The modern form arose when the final /r/ of the infinitive fell silent.^[2][5][3][4] The Grand Robert, the Petit Robert and Littré instead analyse it as the past participle ouï followed by the infinitive.^[7][8][9]

ouïr continues Latin audiō (“to hear”).^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is par oïr-dire about 1228 in Jean Renart's Guillaume de Dole, in the sense “by hearsay”.^[2][3] The Grand Robert and the Petit Robert date the word to about 1200.^[7][8]

Semantic evolution

The word lived mainly in the phrase par ouïr dire, which Bloch and Wartburg note was still preferred in the 16th and 17th centuries.^[5] In 1554 Rabelais's Cinquiesme Livre turns Ouy-dire into a character.^[2] Loysel's Institutes has the saying Ouir-dire va par ville (“hearsay goes about the town”).^[9]

When the verb ouïr gave way to entendre in the 17th century, it survived in a few written formulas, and the compound is one of the things that kept it alive.^[5][3] As a noun, ouï-dire means what is known only from others' reports or from public rumour.^[2][6]

Timeline

• c. 1228 – Par oïr-dire in Jean Renart's Guillaume de Dole.^[2]
• c. 1265 – Jean de Meun uses oïr dire.^[4]
• Late 13th century – Baudouin de Condé writes oï dire.^[4]
• 1466 – Oyr-dire in Pierre Michault's Doctrinal du temps présent.^[2]
• 15th century – The form ouï-dire appears.^[5][4]
• 1554 – Ouy-dire is a character in Rabelais's Cinquiesme Livre.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. hearsay, rumour: what one knows only from what others say, not from seeing or hearing it oneself.^{[2][8][10][6]}
2. Par ouï-dire: by hearsay, indirectly, from having heard it said.^[2][8][10]
3. (law) Hearsay evidence: testimony of what a third person said, offered as proof of its truth.^[11]

Related words

• ouïr
• dire
• ouïe
• inouï
• on-dit
• Latin audiō

Usage notes

The noun is invariable: des ouï-dire.^[2][6] Littré notes a slight aspiration on ouï, so that the plural is said without liaison after les or aux.^[9][8]

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l 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 d e Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
5. ^ a b c d e f Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
6. ^ a b c d Académie française (1992–2024), Dictionnaire de l'Académie française, 9th ed., Paris: Académie française / Fayard / Imprimerie nationale
7. ^ a b 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 c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
10. ^ a b Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
11. ^ Wiktionnaire (French Wiktionary), fr.wiktionary.org