préciser

Forms

préciser^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from French précis + -er.^[2][3][1] The adjective was borrowed in 1377 from Latin praecīsus (“shortened, concise”), the past participle of praecīdō (“to cut off, abridge”).^[4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record, about 1350 in the poems of Gilles li Muisis, uses it transitively for “to make precise, clear”; this is an isolated use.^[2][6]

Semantic evolution

The sense “to fix exactly in place or time” took hold sooner: it is found in 1380 in Jean Lefèvre's translation of La Vieille, as the participle in nuit precisée.^[2][6] The general sense of making clear went unused until the late 18th century: Féraud records it in 1788, quoting Linguet's elle ne précise rien, and Boiste has the absolute use “to speak in precise terms” in 1803.^[2][6] Bloch and Wartburg date the verb from 1797, with one earlier record in 1350.^[4]

The reflexive se préciser “to become more distinct” is recorded in Sainte-Beuve's Volupté (1834),^[2][6] and in 1862 Hugo used it of a battle that draws nearer and grows more threatening.^[2][6] The derivative précisable dates from 1916, in Valéry's notebooks.^[2]

Timeline

• c. 1350 – Gilles li Muisis uses it for “to make clear”.^[2]
• 1380 – The participle precisée “fixed exactly” in Jean Lefèvre.^[2]
• 1788 – Féraud records the verb again, quoting Linguet.^[2]
• 1803 – Boiste records the absolute use.^[2][7]
• 1834 – Se préciser in Sainte-Beuve's Volupté.^[2]
• 1862 – La bataille se précise in Hugo's Les Misérables.^[2]

Meanings

Verb

1. To state or present in a precise or more precise way, to specify: préciser une date (to fix a date).^[8][2]
2. (with que) To add, for clarity, that something is so: il a précisé qu'il viendrait seul (he made it clear he would come alone).^[8][2]
3. (absolute) To speak in precise terms.^[2][9]
4. To make a feeling or idea sharper, more definite.^[8]
5. Se préciser: to become clearer or more distinct, of a threat or an event to draw nearer.^[8][2]

Word family

• précisable
• préciseur

Related words

• précis
• précisément
• précision

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 n o p q 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. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 9, 283a
6. ^ a b c d e Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
8. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette