réprimande

Forms

réprimande f (plural réprimandes)^[1] First written reprimende (1549); réprimande from 1588 (Montaigne).^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin reprimenda (“(a fault) that must be repressed”), with culpa (“fault”) understood, the feminine gerundive of reprimō (“to hold back, repress”).^{[5][2][3][4][6]} The second vowel changed from ⟨e⟩ to ⟨a⟩ at the end of the 16th century, probably after mander.^[3][2] The Grand Robert and the Petit Robert derive it from réprimer instead.^[7][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded in 1549 in Robert Estienne's dictionary, under réprimer, for a reproof addressed to someone for a fault.^[5][4]

Semantic evolution

Montaigne uses the form réprimande in 1588.^[5][6] A sense “restraining”, matching the early uses of réprimer (1552), went out of use.^[2] The word has kept the sense of a reproof from someone in authority.^[2]

At the start of the 19th century it entered administrative and legal language for a purely moral disciplinary penalty (4 April 1802, Bulletin des lois).^[2][5] In criminal law it later named the reprimand given by a police judge to a minor (1936), and in military rules a disciplinary punishment that does not restrict liberty.^[2][4] The verb réprimander is recorded from 1615.^[3]

Timeline

• 1549 – First recorded, as reprimende, by Robert Estienne.^[5][2][4]
• 1588 – Montaigne writes réprimande.^[5][2]
• 1615 – The verb réprimander appears.^[3]
• 1802 – Used in law for a disciplinary penalty.^[5][2]
• 1936 – The criminal-law sense, a reproof given to a minor, is recorded.^[2][4]

Meanings

Noun

1. A reprimand, a reproof from someone in authority to make a person mend their ways: recevoir une réprimande de son chef.^[8][5][6]
2. (law) A purely moral disciplinary penalty.^[4][6]
3. (criminal law) A reproof given by a court to a minor who has committed a petty offence.^[8][4]

Word family

• réprimander

Related words

• réprimer
• Latin reprimō

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ a b c d e Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
4. ^ 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
5. ^ a b c d e f g h 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
6. ^ a b c d Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
7. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert