pensionnaire

Forms

pensionnaire m or f by sense (plural pensionnaires)^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from French pension + -aire.^[2][1][3] Its meanings developed in step with those of the noun, which is from Latin pēnsiō (“payment”), from pēnsus, the past participle of pendō (“to pay”).^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded in 1323, in a document from Reims, for a person who receives a pension (a regular payment).^[2][5][6]

Semantic evolution

In the 15th century the king's pensionnaires were the paid guards of his household, as in Commynes,^[7] and the Perceforest has the word for a person who shares another's table.^[5] In connection with pension in the sense of board and lodging, it came to mean a lodger who pays to live and eat in someone's house (1596) and a pupil boarding at school (1579).^[2][6] From the schoolgirl the feminine took the figurative sense of a naive young woman (1769, Mme du Deffand).^[2][6]

From 1701 it named the chief official of the town councils of Holland, after the pension he received.^[6][5] In the 19th century it was used of an actor of the Théâtre-Français paid a fixed salary instead of a share of the profits (1835) and of a student or young artist given a stay at a foundation (1868).^[2][7] In the sense of a person receiving a pension from the State, it is now replaced by pensionné.^[2][8]

Timeline

• 1323 – First record, for a person who receives a pension.^[2]
• 15th century – The Perceforest uses it for a person who shares another's table.^[5]
• 1579 – Larivey uses it for a pupil boarding at school.^[2]
• 1596 – Hulsius records it for a lodger who pays for board.^[2]
• 1701 – It names the chief official of a town council in Holland.^[6]
• 1769 – Mme du Deffand uses the feminine for an innocent young woman.^[2]
• 1835 – The Académie records it for a salaried actor.^[2]
• 1868 – Littré records it for a student or artist staying at a foundation.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A person who pays for board and lodging in a private house, a family pension or a hotel; a lodger.^[8][9][1]
2. A boarder, a pupil who lives and eats at the school he or she attends.^[8][9][1]
3. (familiar) A resident of an institution such as a prison or an old people's home.^[8][9]
4. An actor of the Comédie-Française who receives a fixed salary without sharing in the profits, as opposed to a sociétaire.^[8][9][7]
5. A student or young artist granted a stay at a foundation or school, such as the French Academy in Rome.^[8][7]
6. (dated) A person who receives a pension from a prince, the State or a private person; now pensionné.^[8][2][9]
7. (history) In the Dutch Republic, the chief official of a town council or province, the pensionary.^[5][9]

Related words

• pension
• pensionnat
• pensionner
• pensionné
• Latin pēnsiō

Usage notes

Littré gives the jocular pensionnaire du roi for a prisoner kept at the king's expense.^[7][2]

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. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
5. ^ a b c d e Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
6. ^ a b c d e Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ a b c d e Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
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
9. ^ a b c d e f Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)