Etymologically
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pardonner

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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

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