préjugé

Forms

préjugé m (plural préjugés)^[1]

Etymology

It is the past participle from French préjuger (“to judge beforehand”), used as a noun.^[2][3][4][5] The verb (1470) adapts Latin praeiūdicō (“to judge beforehand”), a legal term, after juger.^[4] The TLFi and the Petit Robert date the noun to 1579;^[2][6][4][3] Bloch and Wartburg and the Grand Robert give 1584.^[2][6][4][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in 1579, in Henri Estienne's Precellence, for what determines a fact or an opinion.^[2][5]

Semantic evolution

The first senses, “what determines an opinion” and “indication, sign” (1584), have disappeared.^[5][2] The sense that prevailed is “opinion, good or bad, formed in advance” (1587, La Noue), with a pejorative turn towards “opinion adopted without examination” (Montaigne, about 1590).^[2][5] In this sense préjugé took the value that préjudice carried in Middle French.^[5] The legal sense “earlier decision in a similar case” is now dated.^[2][7]

Timeline

• 1579 – Henri Estienne uses it for what determines an opinion.^[2][6]
• 1584 – Recorded as “indication, sign”.^[2][8]
• 1587 – La Noue uses it for an opinion formed beforehand.^[2][7]
• c. 1590 – Montaigne uses it for an opinion adopted without examination.^[2]
• 1636 – Monet records the sense “earlier judgment in a similar case”.^[8]

Meanings

Noun

1. (dated, law) A precedent, a decision taken earlier in a similar case that may weigh on a later one.^[2][7]
2. A sign that lets one form a provisional opinion: un préjugé favorable.^[6][2]
3. A prejudice, a preconceived opinion, often imposed by one's surroundings, period or upbringing: des préjugés contre qqn.^[6][1]

Related words

• préjuger
• juger
• préjudice
• Latin praeiūdicō

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 Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
5. ^ a b c d e Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse