pardonner

Pronunciation

• IPA: /paʁ.dɔ.ne/^[1]

Forms

pardonner^[1] Old French perdoner (about 980), pardoner (about 1050); pardonner at the end of the 12th century.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French pardoner, inherited from Late Latin perdōnō (“to grant, concede (life, a favour)”), recorded only once, in the “Aesop” of Romulus (between 350 and 500).^{[4][2][5][6][1]} The Late Latin verb is formed from the intensive per- and dōnō (“to give; to remit, forgive”) (see donner).^[2][3] The Grand Robert and the Petit Robert instead form it in French from par- and “donner”, after Late Latin.^[7][8] Littré explains it as “to give completely, remit”.^[9]

Cognate with Italian perdonare, Old Occitan perdonar, Catalan perdonar, Spanish perdonar and Portuguese perdoar.^[10]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the Passion of Clermont (end of the 10th century) perdoner vida a is to spare the life of someone condemned, and tu nos perdone celz pecaz “forgive us these sins” already has the Christian sense.^[4][2]

Semantic evolution

In the Chanson de Roland it means to treat an offence as if it had not been committed: Ferut vos ai, car le me pardunez “I have struck you, so forgive me”.^[4][9] In the second half of the 16th century it entered the polite pardonnez-moi, and the Académie (1694) records vous êtes tout pardonné.^[4][2] “To spare” (1573) survives only in the familiar ça ne pardonne pas.^[2] In the 17th century weakened senses developed: to excuse with indulgence (1616–20) and to see without resentment (Racine, 1693).^[4] Se pardonner meant “to spare oneself” in 1520 and took its modern passive and reciprocal values in the 17th century (La Fontaine, 1668).^[4][2] The noun pardon dates from 1130–40.^[2]

Timeline

• late 10th century – Perdoner vida, Passion.^[4]
• c. 1100 – To forgive an offence, Chanson de Roland.^[4]
• c. 1120 – Pardonnable.^[5]
• 1130–40 – Pardon.^[2]
• mid-16th century – Pardonnez-moi.^[4]
• 1573 – “To spare”.^[4]
• 1616–20 – “To excuse”, d'Aubigné.^[4]

Meanings

Verb

1. To forgive, pardon: pardonner une offense à qqn, pardonner à qqn.^[8][1]
2. To excuse, overlook: pardonnez-moi, pardonnez mon retard.^[3][1]
3. Ça ne pardonne pas: it is always fatal, it never fails.^[2]
4. Se pardonner: to forgive oneself; to forgive each other.^[4]

Word family

• pardon
• pardonnable
• impardonnable

Related words

• donner

Usage notes

The proverb faute avouée est à moitié pardonnée means “a fault confessed is half forgiven”.^[8][1]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ a b c 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 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 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, 229b
7. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
10. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter