Etymologically
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par

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Pronunciation

Forms

par[1] Per (842), Old French par (10th century–1050).[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French par, inherited from Latin per (“through, across; during; by means of; in the name of”).[4][5][3][6] Latin “per” had the local sense “through, along, over”, the temporal sense “during” and the senses of means and of the power invoked in an oath; it tended to replace the instrumental ablative, especially with the passive.[2] The change of Latin “e” to “a” is rare in standard French, but compare marchand from “mercantem”.[7]

“Per” belongs to a group of prepositions with the original sense “forward”, with prō and prae; it is an old locative, as in Sanskrit परि (pari) and Ancient Greek περί (perí).[2] Cognate with Occitan per, Spanish por and Italian per.[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Strasbourg Oaths (842) have per dreit “by right, rightly”, marking manner.[4]

Semantic evolution

By the late 10th century par marked the place through which one passes, and the means (1st half of the 10th century).[4][8] About 1100 it marked distribution (par uns e uns “one by one”), and in 1119 the number of times (par quatre feiz).[4] In Old French par also gave an adjective superlative force, like the Latin prefix per- in permagnus “very great”, but it could be separated from the adjective; the only survival is par trop.[6][7] Parce que (1272) replaced pource que in the 17th century.[6]

The archaic de par le roi “in the king's name” is a 13th-century alteration of de part “on behalf of”.[6][7][9]

Timeline

  • 842 – Per dreit in the Strasbourg Oaths.[4]
  • c. 980 – Of place, in the Passion de Clermont.[9]
  • c. 1050 – The form par.[2]
  • c. 1100 – Distributive par uns e uns.[4]
  • 1272 – Parce que.[6]
  • 13th century – De par replaces de part.[6]

Meanings

Preposition

  1. through, via: marks the place passed through: passer par la porte.[8]
  2. In, around (a place): courir par les rues, par terre, on the ground.[8]
  3. by: introduces the agent of a passive verb: il a été mordu par un chien.[2][9]
  4. By, by means of: envoyer par la poste.[9]
  5. Out of, from: marks the cause or motive: par jalousie.[9]
  6. Per, each: marks distribution: deux fois par jour.[4]
  7. On, in (weather or time): par un beau jour.[8][9]

Word family

  • parfois
  • parce que
  • Latin per

Usage notes

Par is also an anglicism in golf (1929), the number of strokes needed for a hole, from English par, from Latin par “equal”.[3][8]

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  3. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c d e f g 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. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 8, 211b
  6. ^ 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
  7. ^ a b c d Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  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 d e f Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse