part

Pronunciation

• IPA: /paʁ/^[1]

Forms

part f (plural parts)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin pars (“share; part; side”), from the accusative “partem”.^{[2][3][4][5][1]} The Latin word meant a share given to someone out of a whole, a part of a whole and, in space, a side or direction; it also named the parts of the body (whence the euphemism parties), an actor's role (whence English part), and in politics a party, often in the plural “partēs”, the popular party opposed to the noble “factio”.^[3] Rey connects it with the verb forms seen in pariō (“to bring forth”) and parō (“to prepare”).^[3]

Cognate with Italian parte, Occitan part and Spanish parte.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in the Strasbourg Oaths (842) in the phrase de suo part “on his side, for his part”.^[2][7][3]

Semantic evolution

At first the word was spatial, “side, direction”: de totas part “from all sides” is in the Passion of Clermont (late 10th century), and d'une part … d'autre part goes back to the same text.^[2] From 1080 de ma part took its modern sense “in my name, from me”, as in De meie part ma muiller saluez “greet my wife from me” in the Chanson de Roland, Old French also said de part Deu without the article.^[2][3] In the Middle Ages and until the 16th century it could mean a party or faction.^[4]

À part moi “to myself” (late 14th century) replaced an older par moi, à part itself is found from the 12th century.^[4] The sense “share, portion” gave avoir part à (1538), prendre part à and faire part de, and the compound plupart (1436).^[8][4] In modern French faire la part des choses means to take everything into account.^[8]

Timeline

• 842 – De suo part in the Strasbourg Oaths.^[2]
• Late 10th century – De totas part and l'altra part in the Passion of Clermont.^[2]
• c. 1100 – De meie part “from me” in the Chanson de Roland.^[2]
• 12th century – À part.^[4]
• 1436 – La plupart.^[4]
• 1538 – Avoir part à.^[8]

Meanings

Noun

1. A share, the portion that falls to someone: sa part du gâteau, la part du lion.^[1][8]
2. A part, a proportion of a whole: pour une large part.^[1]
3. Prendre part à, avoir part à: to take part in, faire part de: to inform of.^[8]
4. De la part de: from, on behalf of, pour ma part: as for me.^[2][3]
5. À part: separately, aside; except for: mettre à part, à part lui.^[4]
6. Quelque part, nulle part, de part et d'autre: somewhere, nowhere, on both sides.^[2]

Related words

• partage
• partager
• partir
• plupart
• partie
• parti
• quote-part
• Latin pars

Usage notes

A separate, rare masculine noun part “childbirth; newborn child” comes from Latin partus; it was recorded in 1170, and survives only in legal phrases such as substitution de part and supposition de part.^[9][7][8]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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
3. ^ a b c d e f Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d e f g Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 7, 669a
6. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
7. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ a b c d e f Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse