Etymologically
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passion

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /pa.sjɔ̃/[1]

Forms

passion f (countable and uncountable, plural passions)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Late Latin passiō (“suffering, enduring; the Passion; affection of the mind”),[2][3][4][5][6][1] formed on passum, the supine of patior (“to suffer, endure”) (see pâtir).[2][3][7] The Latin noun is found from Apuleius (2nd century) for undergoing or suffering, then for physical pain and illness, Christian writers from Tertullian used it for the sufferings of Christ and of the martyrs.[2][3] From the end of the 3rd century it also meant a movement of the soul, especially in the plural and in a bad sense, translating Ancient Greek πάθος (páthos).[3]

Compare Romanian pasiune, Italian passione, Catalan passió, Spanish pasión and Portuguese paixão.[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Passion of Clermont (late 10th century) uses it for the torment suffered by Christ, and the Vie de saint Léger for that of a martyr.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

Philippe de Thaon (1119) uses it for the Gospel account of the Passion; the Confrarie de la Passion that staged mystery plays is named in a letter of Charles VI (1402), and Madame de Sévigné (1671) went to hear a Passion sermon by Bourdaloue.[2][3] The fruit and flower of the passion (see passiflore) owe their names to the same sense.[3][8]

The word also meant physical suffering (early 12th century) before being reserved for affections of the soul: passion d'amor (early 13th century), and Brunetto Latini's list of passions, amour, leesce et misericorde (about 1265).[2][3] Ronsard (1569) uses it for the torment of love; other senses date from the 16th and 17th centuries: partisan bias (sans passion, 1607), a keen love of something (1621), the warmth of a work of art and the object of one's affection (1671).[3] Oresme (1370) used it philosophically for what a subject undergoes, as opposed to action, the distinction Descartes took up in the Passions de l'âme (1649); in modern use it has lost all idea of passivity and denotes a violent feeling or a keen taste.[3][2]

Timeline

  • c. 980 – The Passion of Christ, Passion of Clermont.[2]
  • Late 10th century – A martyr's torment, Vie de saint Léger.[2]
  • 1119 – The Gospel account, Philippe de Thaon.[2]
  • Early 12th century – Physical suffering.[2]
  • Early 13th century – Passion d'amor.[2]
  • 1370 – Philosophical sense, Oresme.[3]
  • 1402 – Confrarie de la Passion.[2]
  • 1569 – The torment of love, Ronsard.[3]
  • 1621 – A keen love of something.[3]
  • 1649 – Descartes's Passions de l'âme.[2]
  • Mid-20th century – Fruit de la passion.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (Christianity) The Passion, the sufferings and death of Christ; a musical setting of it: la Passion selon saint Matthieu.[8][1]
  2. (archaic) Suffering: souffrir mort et passion.[8]
  3. A strong, overwhelming feeling; intense love: aimer avec passion, crime passionnel.[8][3]
  4. A keen enthusiasm, liking for something: la passion du jeu, de la musique.[8][1]
  5. The object of such a liking: la peinture est sa passion.[3]
  6. (dated) Bias, partisanship: juger sans passion.[3]
  7. Fruit de la passion: passion fruit.[8][3]

Word family

  • passionner
  • passionné
  • passionnel
  • passionnément
  • passionniste
  • compassion
  • pâtir
  • patience
  • passif
  • passiflore

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 j k l m n 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 g h i j k l m n o p q r Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  5. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 7, 731a
  7. ^ Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  8. ^ a b c d e f g Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert