Etymologically
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phrase

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /fʁaz/[1]
  • IPA: /fʁɑz/[1]

Forms

phrase f (plural phrases)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin phrasis (“diction, style, expression”), itself borrowed from Ancient Greek φράσις (phrásis, “speech; expression, diction”), from φράζω (phrázō, “to point out, explain, tell”), a verb of unknown origin.[2][3][4][5][6] English phrase (1530) is of the same origin.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Jean Maugin's translation of Palmerin d'Olive (1546) uses it for an arrangement of words, a way of speaking, Montaigne has frases et vocables.[2][7]

Semantic evolution

In the 16th and 17th centuries the word only meant a turn of phrase, an expression, Littré wrongly cites classical authors for the modern sense.[3] The pejorative “empty, high-flown talk” (Bouhours, 1671) lives on in phrases toutes faites (La Bruyère, 1688), faire des phrases (1729) and sans phrases “without beating about the bush” (1874).[3][2]

The grammatical sense, a group of words forming a complete meaning, “sentence”, appears in Father Buffier's grammar (1732) and the Encyclopédie (1754).[2][3] Couperin (1722) used phrase for a musical phrase.[2] In politics, a petite phrase (about 1970) is a pointed remark picked up by the media.[3]

Timeline

  • 1546 – “Way of speaking”, Maugin.[2]
  • 1671 – Empty talk, Bouhours.[3]
  • 1688 – Phrases toutes faites, La Bruyère.[2]
  • 1722 – Musical phrase, Couperin.[2]
  • 1732 – “Sentence”, Buffier.[2]
  • 1755 – The derivative phraser.[4]
  • 1788 – Phraseur.[4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A sentence: une phrase simple, finir sa phrase.[1][8]
  2. Faire des phrases: to speak in a pompous way, sans phrases, bluntly, phrase toute faite, a stock phrase.[8][3]
  3. (music) A phrase.[2]
  4. (politics) Petite phrase: a pointed remark seized on by the media.[3]

Word family

  • phraser
  • phraseur
  • phrasé

Usage notes

Phrase is a false friend of English phrase: it usually means “sentence”.[1][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 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 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. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 8, 399b
  7. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  8. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert