Etymologically
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prétendre

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /pʁe.tɑ̃dʁ/[1]

Forms

prétendre[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin praetendō (“to stretch forth; to allege, plead as a pretext”).[2][3][4] The Latin verb is formed from prae (“before”) and tendō (“to stretch”), and meant properly “to hold out in front, to lie in front”.[3][5] It took the figurative sense “to allege, put forward as an excuse” in classical times, “to claim (a debt)” in Late Latin, in Justinian's “Digest”, and “to assert firmly” in Medieval Latin (1310).[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

In 1320, in a royal ordinance, pretendre de meant “to demand, claim (a right)”.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

From “to claim as one's due” it moved to “to aspire to” (1409), especially in prétendre à with a noun or an infinitive (1470); prétendre à a woman, “to seek her hand”, is in Molière's L'Avare (1668) and has died out.[3][2] With an infinitive (about 1460) it came to mean “to intend firmly”, often with the shade of an unjustified or presumptuous claim.[3]

Already in Middle French (about 1380, Jean Le Fèvre) it was a verb of opinion, “to assert, maintain”; it takes a complement in Commynes (late 15th century) and the reflexive se prétendre “to claim to be” is in Voltaire's Candide (1759).[2][3] From it came prétendant (15th century) and the familiar prétendu “intended husband” (1650).[4] Louisiana French uses it for “to pretend”.[1]

Timeline

  • 1320 – “To claim (a right)”, in a royal ordinance.[2]
  • c. 1380 – “To assert, maintain”, in Jean Le Fèvre.[2][3]
  • 1409 – Prétendre à “to aspire to”.[2][3]
  • c. 1460 – With an infinitive, “to intend firmly”, in Georges Chastellain.[5][3]
  • 1668 – Prétendre à a woman, in Molière's L'Avare.[2]
  • 1669 – Prétendre que with the subjunctive, in Molière.[2]
  • 1759 – Se prétendre “to claim to be”, in Voltaire.[2]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To claim, allege: maintain that something is so.[1][2]
  2. To intend, have the firm intention of (with an infinitive), often presumptuously.[3][6]
  3. Prétendre à: to aspire to, lay claim to: prétendre à un titre.[6][1]
  4. (reflexive) Se prétendre: to claim to be.[1][2]
  5. (archaic, literary) To demand, claim as a right.[6][3]
  6. (Louisiana) To pretend.[1]

Word family

  • prétendant
  • prétendu

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g 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 l Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, 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. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  6. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert