passant

Forms

passant m (plural passants)^[1] Anglo-Norman passant, passaunt.^[2]

Etymology

It is from French passer (“to pass”), whose present participle is used as an adjective and a noun.^{[3][4][5][6][7]} Unlike the past participle passé, it has kept the verb's sense of movement through space.^[5] The verb goes back to Vulgar Latin *passō, from passus (“step”).^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the 12th century, in Roncevaux, it is an adjective meaning “serving as a way through, where one may pass”, said of a bridge or road.^[6][3][5]

Semantic evolution

The early sense “that one passes under” (of a bridge) has died out.^[5] The noun, “person passing along a street or place”, is found from about 1250, in the Vie de saint Jean l'Aumônier.^[6][5] The adjective was used in heraldry from the late 13th century for an animal shown walking.^[6] From 1538 it was also said of a busy place where many people pass, more often than passager in this sense.^[5][6]

From 1347 the noun also names the loop on a belt or strap that holds its loose end;^[5][4] in the Middle Ages it was the ring on a belt buckle.^[8] In old slang (Villon) it meant a shoe.^[5] English took passant from Anglo-Norman, where it meant a wayfarer and, in heraldry, “walking”.^[2]

Timeline

• 1100s – In Roncevaux, an adjective “serving as a passage”.^[6]
• c. 1250 – The noun “passer-by” appears.^[6][5]
• late 1200s – The heraldic sense, in the Roman du Châtelain de Coucy.^[6]
• 1347 – The noun names a belt loop.^[5][4]
• 1538 – Robert Estienne records it of a busy place.^[6]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Of a street or place: busy, where many people or vehicles pass: un carrefour très passant.^[4][6]
2. (heraldry) Of an animal: passant, shown walking.^[4][9]
3. (physics) Bande passante: bandwidth.^[4][1]

Noun

1. A passer-by, someone going along a street on foot: un passant m'a indiqué la gare.^[4][6]
2. A loop on a belt or strap that holds its free end; coulant.^[4][10]

Related words

• passer
• passage
• passager
• passé

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 Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d e f g h Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
7. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 7, 710b
8. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
9. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
10. ^ Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)