pur

Pronunciation

• IPA: /pyʁ/^[1]

Forms

pur (feminine pure, masculine plural purs, feminine plural pures)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin pūrus (“spotless, unstained; clean, clear; unmixed”).^{[2][3][4][5][1][6]} The Latin word belonged above all to religious language, like its Greek counterpart Ancient Greek καθαρός (katharós), and goes back to an Indo-European root seen in Sanskrit पूत (pūtá, “purified”).^[3][7] A comparison with Old Irish úr (“green, fresh”) remains hypothetical.^[3]

Cognate with Romanian pur, Occitan pur, Catalan pur, Italian puro, Spanish puro and Portuguese puro.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Passion de Clermont (late 10th century) uses pura in the abstract sense “complete, unmixed”, of faith.^[2][3][8]

Semantic evolution

Wace (about 1130–1155) has it in the moral sense “spotless, chaste”, and in Chrétien de Troyes (1170–1176) it is “unmixed” and “flawless”: vin pur, air pur.^[2][8] Pur de “free from” dates from about 1225.^[2] Before a noun it means “nothing but”, as in Oresme's pure perece (1370), en pure perte (1509) and pur et simple.^[2][3]

Philosophy speaks of état de pure nature (1736), and la Raison pure translates Kant, opposed to practical, science pure and art pur are pursued for their own sake.^[3][7] A writer's style is pur in Richelet (1688), and de pure race is in Hugo (1832).^[2] In 1721 Montesquieu used un pur for one who professes orthodox doctrine; today pur et dur describes an uncompromising militant.^[2][1]

Timeline

• late 10th century – Pura, of faith, Passion de Clermont.^[2]
• c. 1130–1140 – “Chaste”, Wace.^[2]
• 1170 – “Unmixed”, Chrétien de Troyes.^[2]
• c. 1225 – Pur de “free from”.^[2]
• 1370 – Pure perece “sheer laziness”, Oresme.^[2]
• 1509 – En pure perte.^[3]
• 1688 – Of a writer's style, Richelet.^[2]

Meanings

Adjective

1. pure, unmixed: vin pur, or pur, de l'eau pure; clear: un ciel pur, air pur.^[7][1][8]
2. Morally pure, chaste, innocent: une âme pure, des intentions pures.^[3][7]
3. (before the noun) Sheer, mere: une pure folie, pur et simple, en pure perte.^[3][7]
4. Theoretical, pursued for its own sake: science pure, mathématiques pures, la Raison pure.^[7][3]
5. Correct, faultless (of language or style); flawless (of lines or features).^[2][8]
6. Pur et dur: hard-line, uncompromising.^[1]

Word family

• pureté
• purement
• puriste
• purisme
• impur
• apurer
• épurer

Related words

• purifier
• purger
• pur-sang
• Latin pūrus

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 9, 618b
7. ^ a b c d e f g Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse