parcourir

Forms

parcourir^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin percurrō (“to run through, run over; to survey, pass in review”), adapted after courir.^[2][3][4][5] The Latin verb is formed from per (“through”) and currō (“to run”).^[2][6] Littré and Wiktionary analyse it as par- and the French verb, formed to render the Latin.^[7][1]

The Grand Robert and the GLLF start from an Old French parcorre in Wace (about 1155);^[4][6] the TLFi's first record is an isolated reading in a 13th-century manuscript of a poem by Wace, after which the verb returns only at the start of the 16th century as percourrir (Fossetier).^[8] Bloch and Wartburg date it to the 15th century, beside parcours (1286), both taken from Latin and refashioned after the French words.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

In its first record, a 13th-century manuscript of Wace's Roman de Rou, it means to go through a place or visit it in all its parts.^[8][2]

Semantic evolution

After this isolated record the verb reappears at the beginning of the 16th century, following the noun parcours in the same sense.^[2] In the 16th century it also meant “to pursue at a run” (Baïf, 1573), now obsolete, and customary law had droit de parcourir, the right to graze one's animals on unenclosed land (1624, customs of Gorze).^[8][2][7]

The sense of reading quickly and superficially, taken from Latin, is first found in Montaigne (1588), and parcourir des yeux, to run one's eyes over, in Racine (1669).^[8][2] In the 17th century it came to be said of things that go from one end to the other, first figuratively (Boileau, 1671–1682), then literally (Rollin, 1731–1738), and of covering a set distance (late 17th century, Malebranche).^[8][2] Rey notes that the verb gave only rare derivatives, parcoureur and parcourable (20th century).^[2]

Timeline

• c. 1155 – Old French parcorre in Wace.^[4][6]
• 13th century – Parcourir in a manuscript of Wace's Roman de Rou.^[8]
• 1286 – The noun parcours.^[3]
• Early 16th century – Percourrir (Fossetier).^[8]
• 1573 – Baïf: “to pursue at a run”.^[8]
• 1588 – Montaigne: to read quickly.^[8][2]
• 1624 – Droit de parcourir, a grazing right.^[8]
• 1669 – Racine: parcourir des yeux.^[8]
• 1671–1682 – Boileau: of a thing going from end to end.^[8]

Meanings

Verb

1. To go through all parts of (a place), to travel all over: parcourir la Bretagne à vélo.^[5][9][10]
2. Of a thing: to travel across, run through: un frisson lui parcourut le dos.^[5][8]
3. To cover (a set distance or route).^[5][10]
4. To read quickly, skim: parcourir une lettre.^[5][1]
5. To look over the parts of a whole: parcourir la foule du regard.^[8][6]
6. (nautical) Parcourir les coutures: to go over every seam of a ship with a chisel to check it.^[7]

Related words

• courir
• parcours
• Latin percurrō

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
4. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
7. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n 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
9. ^ Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
10. ^ a b Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)