pessimisme

Forms

pessimisme m (plural pessimismes)^[1]

Etymology

It is a learned formation from Latin pessimus (“worst”) with the suffix -isme, made as the opposite of optimisme.^[2][3][4][1] The Latin word is the superlative of malus (“bad”).^[2][3][5]

By popular descent the same Latin word had given Old French pesme (“very bad”) (1050), which died out in the 15th century.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded in 1759, in L'Observateur littéraire, for a cast of mind that takes things by their bad side and expects them to turn out badly.^[2][6]

Semantic evolution

Camille Desmoulins used the word in 1794.^[2] In philosophy it came to name the doctrine that evil outweighs good in the world, recorded by Boiste in 1819;^[2][3] the Petit Robert ties this sense to Schopenhauer's German use the same year,^[7] and the GLLF dates it to 1828 (Mozin).^[6]

The noun and adjective pessimiste followed in 1789, first in the title of a comedy, Le Pessimiste ou l'Homme mécontent de tout.^[3][4] English pessimism was borrowed from French by Coleridge in 1794.^[8]

Timeline

• 1759 – First recorded in L'Observateur littéraire.^[2][6]
• 1789 – Pessimiste appears.^[3][4]
• 1794 – Desmoulins uses the word in the Vieux Cordelier.^[2]
• 1794 – Coleridge takes it into English.^[8]
• 1819 – Boiste records the philosophical sense.^[2][3]

Meanings

Noun

1. A turn of mind that sees only the bad side of things and expects them to go badly; pessimism: Son pessimisme décourageait toute l'équipe.^[7][2][9]
2. (philosophy) The doctrine that evil outweighs good in the world, especially Schopenhauer's view of life as suffering.^[7][6]

Related words

• pessimiste
• optimisme
• pire
• Latin pessimus

References

1. ^ a b c 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 g Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c 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. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
7. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
9. ^ Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)