Etymologically
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pur

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Pronunciation

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
  • 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