protester

Forms

protester^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin prōtestor (“to declare publicly, affirm, bear witness”), first recorded in 1339.^[2][3][4] The Latin verb, of the imperial period, is formed from prō- (“before, forth”) and testor (“to bear witness, attest”), itself from testis (“witness”).^[2][5] Bloch and Wartburg and the Grand Robert date the first record to 1343.^[6][7]

Cognate with Occitan protestar, Spanish protestar and Italian protestare.^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

In 1339 a Paris criminal register uses protester de with an infinitive in the sense “to bind oneself solemnly to do something”, a construction that later disappeared.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

The verb first kept the Latin senses: from 1343 protester que meant “to declare solemnly that”, while from 1560 the verb meant “to attest solemnly and publicly”; this survives mainly where a denial is involved, as in protester de son innocence.^[2][3] In law protester de meant “to declare publicly that one objects to or is the victim of something”: protester de nullité is recorded in 1650 and protester de violence in Molière's Fourberies de Scapin (1671).^[2][3]

The modern sense “to voice one's opposition” also began in legal language: it appears in 1650, absolutely in 1668 (La Fontaine) and with contre by 1693.^[2][3] Rey thinks this sense grew out of the noun protestation, which had it in Old French,^[3] while Bloch and Wartburg tie its success to the derivative protestant.^[6] Since 1611 (Cotgrave) the verb has also had the commercial sense “to draw up a protest against an unpaid bill”, the act called a protêt.^[2][3][6]

Timeline

• 1339 – Protester de + infinitive “to undertake solemnly” in a Paris criminal register.^[2]
• 1343 – Protester que “to declare solemnly that”.^[2][6]
• c. 1500 – Commynes uses protester de for “to object in advance to”.^[2]
• 1560 – Calvin uses it for “to attest publicly”.^[2]
• 1611 – Cotgrave records the commercial sense “to protest a bill”.^[2][5]
• 1650 – Protester de nullité in law, and the sense “to express opposition”.^[2][3]
• 1693 – First record of protester contre.^[2]

Meanings

Verb

1. (intransitive) To express one's opposition or refusal forcefully, often with contre: Les habitants protestent contre la fermeture de la gare.^[9][10][11]
2. (literary, with de) To assert something insistently: protester de son innocence.^[9][11][10]
3. (dated, transitive) To declare or promise solemnly: je vous proteste que….^[2][9]
4. (law, dated, with de) To declare publicly that one is the victim of something or rejects it: protester de nullité.^[9][2]
5. (commerce) To have a protêt drawn up against an unpaid or unaccepted bill of exchange.^[2][8]

Word family

• protestant
• protestataire
• protêt
• protestation

Related words

• tester
• attester
• Latin prōtestor

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 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. ^ a b c d e f g h Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 9, 475b
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 d Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
7. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
9. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
10. ^ a b Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
11. ^ a b Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)