précaire

Forms

précaire (plural précaires)^[1] First as precoire (1336), then précaire from the 16th century.^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin precārius (“obtained by prayer, granted as a favour, uncertain”), a word of Roman law,^[2][3][5] derived from precor (“to pray, to beg”),^[2][3] from prex (“prayer”).^[6][7] Rey explains that what is granted on request depends on a higher will and is not owed, hence “ill-assured, passing”.^[3] It is a doublet of prière.^[1]

Cognate with Occitan precari, Spanish precario and Italian precario.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

It first appears as precoire in a legal document of 1336 in the Archives nationales, in the sense “exercised only by a revocable permission”; this is an isolated record, and the word reappears only before 1585 in Ronsard.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

The legal sense describes a right held by a concession that the grantor may revoke at any time, as in détenteur précaire (1804, Civil Code).^[2][3] In the 17th century the adjective passed into general use, first of abstract things whose future or duration is not assured (1618, Agrippa d'Aubigné's vie précaire), then of material things whose solidity cannot be relied on (1892, Claudel).^[2][3] Littré also records the legal noun un précaire, a loan obtained by request and a kind of lease granted by the powerful to humbler people.^[6]

The word gave précairement (1611) and précarité (1823).^[3]

Timeline

• 1336 – Precoire appears in a legal document.^[2]
• before 1585 – Ronsard uses précaire.^[2][3]
• 1611 – The adverb précairement is recorded.^[3]
• 1618 – Agrippa d'Aubigné writes of a vie precaire, a life whose duration is not assured.^[2][6]
• 1804 – The Civil Code uses détenteur précaire.^[2]
• 1823 – Précarité appears.^[3][7]
• 1892 – Claudel applies it to material things.^[2]

Meanings

Adjective

1. (law) Held or exercised only by a revocable permission: possession précaire, à titre précaire.^[8][2][6]
2. Whose future or duration is not assured; uncertain, unstable, fragile: un emploi précaire.^[8][9]
3. Of material things: not solid, likely not to last.^[2]

Word family

• précarité
• précairement

Related words

• prière
• prier
• Latin precārius

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m 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 i j k Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 9, 339b
6. ^ a b c d e Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
7. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
8. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)