pressentiment

Forms

pressentiment m (plural pressentiments)^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from French pressentir + -ment.^[2][3][4] The verb, first recorded in 1414, is from Latin praesentiō (“to feel beforehand”),^[5][6] from prae- and sentiō (“to perceive, feel”).^[7] Picoche places both words in the family of sentir, the verb being a learned borrowing.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLFi's first record is in Amyot's translation of Plutarch's moral works (1572), in the essay on which animals are the cleverest, where sea creatures have a pressentiment that makes them wary of every trap: an unreasoned feeling that warns of a coming event.^[2][8] The Grand Robert, the Petit Robert and Rey date the word to 1559.^[4][9][10]

Semantic evolution

From the first the noun named an unreasoned feeling that something is about to happen, most often something unwelcome.^[2][10] In 1690 Furetière records a second sense, a vague knowledge of something present that is not yet clearly seen.^[11][10] Rey notes that the noun is the only derivative of pressentir and that, like the verb, it has stayed in everyday use.^[10] Littré also records pressentiment de goutte and pressentiment de fièvre, the uneasy feeling that announces an attack of gout or fever.^[8]

English took the word as presentiment in 1714.^[7]

Timeline

• 1414 – The verb pressentir is first recorded.^[5]
• 1559 – First date the Grand Robert and Rey give for the noun.^[4][10]
• 1572 – Amyot uses it of the wariness of sea creatures.^[2][8]
• 1690 – Furetière records the sense “vague knowledge of something present”.^[11]
• 1714 – English borrows it as presentiment.^[7]

Meanings

Noun

1. A vague, instinctive feeling that something, usually unpleasant, is going to happen; a premonition: j'ai le pressentiment qu'elle ne reviendra pas.^[2][9][12]
2. A vague, intuitive knowledge of something that cannot be known by reasoning or is not yet clearly apparent.^[11][13]

Related words

• sentiment
• Latin praesentiō
• English presentiment

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e 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. ^ Wiktionnaire (French Wiktionary), fr.wiktionary.org
4. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
6. ^ a b Picoche, Jacqueline (1991), Dictionnaire étymologique du français, Paris: Le Robert (Les Usuels du Robert)
7. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
8. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
9. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
10. ^ a b c d e Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
11. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
12. ^ Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
13. ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)