Etymologically
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pardon

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /paʁ.dɔ̃/[1]

Forms

pardon m (plural pardons)[1] Anglo-Norman pardun, pardoun, perdun.[2]

Etymology

It is a deverbal noun from French pardonner (“to forgive”).[3][4][1] The verb goes back to Late Latin perdōnō, found once, about 400, meaning “to grant, concede”;[5][6] Etymonline analyses it as per- (“through, thoroughly”) and dōnō (“to give as a gift”), from dōnum (“gift”).[7]

Cognate with Old Occitan perdo, Catalan perdó, Spanish perdón, Portuguese perdão and Italian perdono.[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its first recorded sense, in Wace's Life of Saint Margaret (1130–40), is the act of forgiving an offence.[3] The Anglo-Norman dictionary has pardun from 1113–19.[2]

Semantic evolution

In religious use it soon meant absolution (1160–74, Wace) and an indulgence, then the feast at which indulgences were gained (about 1240).[3] In Brittany a pardon is a patronal feast with a pilgrimage, recorded from 1834;[3] the Grand Pardon, the Jewish Day of Atonement, is in Trévoux in 1721.[3]

As a formula of politeness, je vous en demande pardon is found in the mid-16th century, and pardon! alone about 1540;[3][9] Molière has je vous demande pardon and Madame de Sévigné mille pardons.[9] Sans pardon “merciless” is recorded in Delille, 1802.[3] The popular doubled formula pardon, excuse is found from 1800 in comedies.[10] English pardon was borrowed from Old French about 1300, first meaning a papal indulgence.[7]

Timeline

  • 1130–40 – Wace, Life of Saint Margaret: forgiveness of an offence.[3]
  • 1160–74 – Religious absolution, in Wace's Roman de Rou.[3]
  • c. 1240 – A feast at which indulgences were gained.[3]
  • c. 1300 – English pardon is borrowed from Old French.[7]
  • 1458 – The angelus, to which indulgences were attached.[3]
  • c. 1540 – Pardon! as an apology.[9][3]
  • 1721 – The Jewish feast of Atonement, in Trévoux.[3]
  • 1800 – Pardon, excuse in a comedy.[10]
  • 1834 – The Breton pardon.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. forgiveness: the act of not holding a fault or an offence against someone: demander pardon, accorder son pardon.[11][12]
  2. In Brittany, a religious pilgrimage and feast in honour of a saint.[11][12]
  3. Le Grand Pardon: Yom Kippur.[11]
  4. (historical) An indulgence granted by the Church.[12][3]

Interjection

  1. sorry, excuse me: an apology, also used to ask someone to repeat (pardon?).[1][13][9]
  • pardonner
  • pardonnable
  • impardonnable
  • English pardon

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o 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
  4. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 8, 230a
  7. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  8. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  9. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  10. ^ a b Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
  11. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  12. ^ a b c Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
  13. ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)