poème

Forms

poème m (plural poèmes)^[1] Written poeme, then poëme until the 19th century (still in Littré).^[2][3]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin poēma (“a work in verse, poetry”),^{[4][2][5][3][6]} which is from Ancient Greek ποίημα (poíēma, “something made, a work, a poem”), a derivative of the Greek verb meaning “to make, create, compose a poem”.^[1][4][2] Rey traces the root of the Greek verb to Proto-Indo-European °kʷei-, also seen in a Sanskrit verb meaning “to pile up, arrange”.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded in 1213, in the Faits des Romains, for a work in verse by a Latin author.^[4][2][3]

Semantic evolution

It was taken up again in Middle French by Oresme (1370), in learned language, for any work of poetry, beside the older dictié.^[4][2] The Pléiade spread the word, Du Bellay using it in 1549 for a long, solemn work in verse; until the mid-19th century it implied a story and was used especially of the epic and of tragedy.^[4][2] Poème en prose is recorded in 1716, when La Motte applied it to Télémaque, and in 1761 Diderot extended the word to any literary work of poetic inspiration.^[4][2]

Through poème lyrique (1765), used of opera, it came to name an opera libretto in verse (1812).^[4][2] The Romantics gave it figurative senses: something in nature full of poetry (1810, Mme de Staël) and a non-literary work of art with poetic qualities (1830).^[4][2] Balzac used it in 1830 for an extravagant person or thing, the source of the familiar c'est tout un poème.^[4][2] Poème symphonique dates from 1872 (Saint-Saëns).^[4]

Timeline

• 1213 – First record, in the Faits des Romains.^[4][5]
• 1370 – Oresme uses it for a work of poetry.^[4][2]
• 1549 – Du Bellay uses it for a long work in verse.^[4][2]
• 1716 – La Motte calls Télémaque a poëme en prose.^[4][2]
• 1761 – Diderot extends it to any work of poetic inspiration.^[4]
• 1765 – Poème lyrique appears in the Encyclopédie.^[4]
• 1812 – It names an opera libretto.^[4][2]
• 1830 – Balzac uses it for an extravagant person or thing.^[4][2]
• 1872 – Poème symphonique is recorded.^[4]
• 1903 – Poème à forme fixe appears in the Nouveau Larousse illustré.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. A work of poetry in verse, a poem: un poème en alexandrins.^[7][8][1]
2. Poème en prose: a prose work with the inspiration and structure of a poem.^[7][8]
3. The verse libretto of an opera or lyric work.^[8][4]
4. (figurative, literary) Something full of poetry, a work of art that moves like poetry.^[7][8]
5. (music) Poème symphonique: a symphonic poem.^[7][4]
6. (familiar) C'est tout un poème: it's quite something, of a strange or extraordinary person or thing.^[7][2]

Related words

• poésie
• poète
• poétique
• Latin poēma

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ a b c 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 i j k l m n o p q r s t u v 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
5. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 9, 114a
7. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ a b c d Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)