postposer

Forms

postposer^[1] Middle French also postpouser.^[2] Littré notes that Chifflet's grammar gave the pronunciation posposer.^[3]

Etymology

It is formed from French post- + poser.^[4][5][6][7] Wiktionary instead derives it from Latin postpōnō (“to put after”), reshaped after poser;^[1] the FEW files the Middle French verb under Latin pausō, the etymon of that verb.^[8][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Middle French dictionary records it in 1362–1365 in Saint-Gille's commentary, meaning “to place after” in space or time;^[8] the TLFi's first example, from Gace de la Buigne's Roman des Deduis (1377), has the sense “to put after, to neglect”: the judge postpose Justice and grants Pity.^[4][9]

Semantic evolution

In Middle French and the 16th century the verb meant to rank one thing below another, or to set it aside: soldiers postposant toute crainte de mort put aside all fear of death,^[2] and Montaigne wrote of putting the national bond after the universal one (postposant cette liaison nationale à l'universelle).^[3] Littré still gives this sense, the opposite of préférer, but already marks it as old.^[3][7]

The grammatical sense starts with the participle postposé in Louis Meigret's grammar of 1550; the verb itself in this sense is recorded by the Nouveau Larousse universel in 1949.^[4] Linguists use it for placing a word after the one it relates to, the opposite of antéposer.^[4][6] In Belgium it also means “to put off until later”.^[4][6][1]

Timeline

• 1362–1365 – Saint-Gille uses postposer “to place after”.^[8]
• 1377 – Gace de la Buigne uses it for “to put after, neglect”.^[4]
• 1550 – Louis Meigret's grammar has the participle postposé.^[4]
• 16th century – Montaigne uses it for “to rank below”.^[3]
• 1949 – The Nouveau Larousse universel records the verb in grammar.^[4][7]
• 1974 – A Belgian newspaper uses it for “to postpone”.^[4]

Meanings

Verb

1. (grammar, linguistics) To place a word after the word it relates to.^[4][6]
2. (Belgium) To postpone, put off.^[4][6]
3. (dated) To rank one thing below another, put it second.^[7][3]
4. (bookbinding, dated) To transpose.^[3]

Related words

• poser
• antéposer
• Latin postpōnō

Usage notes

The past participle is common as an adjective: sujet postposé, adjectif postposé.^[4][6]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Godefroy, Frédéric (1881–1902), Dictionnaire de l'ancienne langue française et de tous ses dialectes du IXe au XVe siècle, 10 vols., Paris: Vieweg / Bouillon
3. ^ a b c d e f Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
4. ^ 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
5. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ a b c d e f Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
8. ^ a b c Dictionnaire du Moyen Français, version 2015 (DMF 2015), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/dmf
9. ^ a b Tobler, Adolf; Lommatzsch, Erhard (1925–2002), Altfranzösisches Wörterbuch, 11 vols., Berlin / Wiesbaden / Stuttgart: Weidmann / Steiner, p. 7:1648