répit

Forms

répit m (plural répits)^[1] Old French respit; the spelling répit appears in the 15th century.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French respit, inherited from Latin respectus (“a looking back, regard, refuge”), which in the spoken Latin of later times came to mean “delay, respite”.^[4][5][6][7] The Latin noun is the action noun of respiciō (“to look back”), formed from re- and speciō (“to look”).^[2][8] Rey explains the move to “delay” through the sense “being able to look to someone or something”, that is, to count on it.^[2]

It is the inherited doublet of the learned respect.^[2][1][6] Cognate with Old Occitan respieit, Italian rispetto and Portuguese respeito.^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record, in Philippe de Thaon's Comput (1119), has the Old French sense “proverb, saying”;^[4][6] the sense “respite, delay” follows in Wace's Brut (1155), and sanz respit “without respite” in his Roman de Rou (1160–1174).^[4][3]

Semantic evolution

Old French took over both values of the Latin word: “regard, consideration”, and the delay granted before something painful, or a pause in suffering.^[2][3] The first value was later left to the learned doublet respect; the sense “saying, proverb”, frequent in Old French texts, also died out.^[2][6][8]

In the law of the old monarchy lettres de répit (1495) were royal letters granting a debtor a delay against his creditors.^[4][3] In the 17th century, according to Ferdinand Brunot, the word was felt to be familiar and low, a term of legal wrangling.^[2] Today its main use is a break that allows relief, as in sans répit, one of the oldest phrases.^[2][9]

Timeline

• 1119 – Philippe de Thaon uses respit for a proverb or saying.^[4]
• 1155 – Wace uses it for a delay or respite.^[4][3]
• 1160–1174 – Sanz respit appears in Wace's Rou.^[4]
• 15th century – The spelling répit appears.^[2][3]
• 1495 – Lettres de répit are recorded in the Coutumier général.^[4][3]

Meanings

Noun

1. A respite: a pause in something painful, a time of rest from a burden or threat.^[9][4]
2. A delay granted, especially to a debtor.^[9][3]
3. Sans répit: without stopping, continually.^[9]
4. (historical, law) Lettres de répit: royal letters suspending a creditor's proceedings against a debtor.^[4][8]

Related words

• respect
• Latin respectus

Usage notes

Old French also had the verb respiter “to grant a respite”.^[8] Palsgrave noted that respit was pronounced without the ⟨s⟩.^[8]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j 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
5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 10, 306a
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 c d e f 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