prétexte

Forms

prétexte m (plural prétextes)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin praetextus (“a putting in front, pretext”), borrowed in 1530.^[2][3][4] The Latin noun is the past participle of praetexō (“to border, to put forward as an excuse”) used as a masculine noun,^[4][2] and the verb is formed from prae- (“in front”) and texō (“to weave”).^[4][5] Legal usage already had Medieval Latin sub hujus praetextu (“under cover of this”) in a charter of 1463.^[2][6][7]

Bloch and Wartburg date the French word only to 1549.^[6] It is a separate borrowing from the feminine noun for the Roman bordered toga, taken in 1355 from praetexta.^[4][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Palsgrave's English–French dictionary of 1530 has it in the sense of a plausible motive put forward to hide the real reason for an action.^[2][4]

Semantic evolution

The word came in with its modern sense and kept it.^[4] The phrase sous prétexte de (1539), modelled on Latin, came first, then sous prétexte que (1566 as soubz prétext que),^[2][4] while the classical variant sur le prétexte que (1678, Madame de La Fayette) has died out.^[2][4]

Since the emphasis is on what gives the occasion for doing something, the word also passed into the language of art, for a subject that is only an opportunity for the artist's own aesthetic aims;^[4] the GLLF dates this sense to Proudhon, before 1865.^[8] Prendre prétexte de is recorded by Larousse in 1875.^[8]

English pretext (1510s) was taken from the French word.^[9]

Timeline

• 1463 – Medieval Latin sub hujus praetextu in a charter.^[2][6]
• 1530 – Palsgrave records prétexte “specious motive”.^[2]
• 1539 – First record of sous prétexte de.^[2][8]
• 1566 – Soubz prétext que in Granvelle's correspondence.^[2]
• 1678 – Sur le prétexte que in the Princesse de Clèves.^[2]
• 1875 – Larousse records prendre prétexte de.^[8]

Meanings

Noun

1. A pretext: a reason put forward to hide the real motive for an act, or as an excuse for refusing something: il a trouvé un prétexte pour partir plus tôt.^[10][2]
2. Sous prétexte de, sous prétexte que: on the pretext of, claiming that.^[10][2]
3. Servir de prétexte à: to be used as a pretext for something.^[10]
4. (art) The subject of a work regarded as a mere occasion for the artist's real aims.^[4][8]

Word family

• prétexter

Related words

• texte
• tisser
• Latin praetextus
• English pretext

Usage notes

A rarer feminine prétexte (1355, from Latin praetexta) is a term of Roman antiquity: the white toga with a purple border worn by young patricians and certain magistrates, also called robe prétexte (1762); by metonymy a tragédie prétexte was a Latin tragedy on a national subject.^[4][10][5]

References

1. ^ a b 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
6. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
7. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 9, 323a
8. ^ a b c d e Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
9. ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
10. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert