Etymologically
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ouvrir

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /u.vʁiʁ/[1]
  • IPA (Louisiana): [uvæɾ][1]
  • IPA (Louisiana): [ɾuvɾɪɾ][1]

Forms

ouvrir[1] Old French obrir (about 980), uvrir (1080), ovrir, ouvrir from the 13th century.[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French ovrir, inherited from Vulgar Latin *operiō, an alteration of Latin aperiō (“to open, uncover”).[4][5][6][1] The vowel “o” came from its opposite, Latin operiō (“to cover, close”): once “operīre” had given way to its compound cooperiō (whence couvrir), “aperīre” could be drawn towards it by the polarity of the two ideas.[4][6][3] “Aperiō” and “operiō” are thought to contain a simple verb “*werīre” with Balto-Slavic relatives such as Lithuanian atverti (“to open”), but the Latin sound changes are unclear.[5]

Littré, writing before this explanation, found the word very difficult to derive.[7] The same altered form is found in Old Occitan obrir and Catalan obrir, while Italian aprire, Spanish abrir and Portuguese abrir continue the classical verb.[4][6][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

At the end of the 10th century the Passion of Clermont uses obrir for making what was closed no longer closed; about 1100 the Chanson de Roland has De pareïs li seit la porte uverte “may the gate of paradise be open to him”.[4][7]

Semantic evolution

In the 13th century it meant “to give access to” (of a window opening on a garden), and, from 1485 “to open (a shop)”.[4][5] The figurative sense “to reveal” is in Jean de Meun (1275–80), and ouvrir la voie dates from the 14th century.[4] It also meant to open a letter (1280) and to cut open a body (about 1100).[4][5]

In 1376 it took the sense “to begin”, as in opening a war (late 15th century, Froissart), and later a show or a game; in rugby ouvrir “to pass the ball out to the wings” is from 1928.[4][9] Ouvrir un compte is recorded in 1720.[5] The participle ouvert meant “manifest” (about 1210) and “frank, sincere” (1588).[4]

Timeline

  • Late 10th century – Obrir in the Passion of Clermont.[4]
  • c. 1100 – La porte uverte and uvrit les oilz in the Chanson de Roland.[4]
  • 1280 – To open a letter.[4]
  • 1376 – The sense “to begin”.[4]
  • 1485 – Boutique ouverte.[4]
  • 1588 – Ouvert “frank” in Montaigne.[4]
  • 1720 – Ouvrir un compte.[5]
  • 1928 – A rugby term.[4][9]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To open: ouvrir une porte, une boîte, les yeux, (absolute) to open the door: va ouvrir.[8][1]
  2. To open for business: le magasin ouvre à neuf heures.[10]
  3. To begin, start: ouvrir la séance, ouvrir le feu.[1][11]
  4. To make, open up (a path, a way): ouvrir une route.[1]
  5. To switch on: ouvrir la radio.[1]
  6. S'ouvrir: to open, s'ouvrir à quelqu'un, to confide in someone.[1]
  7. (intransitive) To open onto: la fenêtre ouvre sur le jardin.[1][4]

Word family

  • ouvrant
  • ouvre-boîte
  • ouvre-bouteille
  • ouvreur
  • rouvrir
  • ouvert
  • ouverture
  • couvrir
  • Latin aperiō

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  3. ^ a b 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 l m n o p q 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
  5. ^ a b c d e f Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  7. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  8. ^ a b 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
  10. ^ Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
  11. ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)