périmètre

Forms

périmètre m (plural périmètres)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin perimetros (“circumference”),^[2][3][4] from Ancient Greek περίμετρος (perímetros, “circumference”),^[2][5][4] the feminine of the adjective “measured all round” used as a noun, with γραμμή (grammḗ, “line”) understood.^[5] The adjective is formed from περί (perí, “around”) and μέτρον (métron, “measure”).^[5][6][4][7] It belongs with the French words in -mètre.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in 1538, in Jehan Canappe's revised French version of Guy de Chauliac's Guidon, for the line that bounds a plane figure and for the length of that line.^[2][4]

Semantic evolution

In geometry the word names the line that closes a plane figure and, by metonymy, its length.^[5][2] From 1847 (Balzac) it was applied to the area that lies around a given point,^[2][5][4] especially an area where rules, services or works apply, as in périmètre d'agglomération (1953) and périmètre de sécurité.^[5][4][8] The Académie recorded the wider sense “outline of any surface or space” in 1878.^[4]

Going back to the sense of its parts, “measuring around”, it also names an instrument that measures the limits of the field of vision (before 1914); the English perimeter had this sense from 1875.^[2][5] The Petit Robert adds an economic use: the range of a firm's activities or of a group's assets.^[8] English took the word much earlier, as perimetre in the early 15th century, from Latin.^[9]

Timeline

• 1538 – First record, in the French Guidon of Guy de Chauliac.^[2][4]
• 1705 – The derivative périmétrie appears in Fontenelle, for the length of a perimeter.^[2][5]
• 1832 – Périmétrique is recorded.^[5]
• 1847 – Balzac uses it of the area around a point.^[2][5][4]
• 1878 – The Académie records the sense “outline of a space”.^[4]
• before 1914 – It names an instrument for measuring the field of vision.^[2][5]
• 1953 – Périmètre d'agglomération is recorded.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. (geometry) The perimeter, the line that bounds a plane figure, and the length of this line: le périmètre d'un rectangle.^[8][2][4]
2. An area or zone around a point or within limits: un périmètre de sécurité, dans un périmètre de dix kilomètres.^[8][4]
3. (economics) The range of a firm's activities, or the set of a group's assets.^[8]
4. (physiology) An instrument that measures the visual field.^[8][2]

Word family

• périmétrie
• périmétrique

Related words

• mètre¹
• Latin perimetros
• English perimeter

References

1. ^ 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m 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 g h i j k Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
7. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 6/2, 63a
8. ^ a b c d e f Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com