résonner

Forms

résonner^[1] Old French resoner, then resuner (about 1155); the spelling resonner with two ⟨n⟩ appears in 1380 under the influence of sonner, and the accent at the start of the 17th century.^[2]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin resonō (“to send back sounds, resound, echo”),^[3][4][5][6] formed with re-, marking a movement back, and sonō (“to make a sound”), from sonus (“sound”).^[2][7] The double ⟨n⟩ is due to sonner.^[2] The TLFi dates the first record to about 1160, the Grand Robert, Rey and the GLLF to about 1130, and Bloch and Wartburg to about 1150.^{[3][4][2][7][5]}

Cognate with Old Occitan resonar, Spanish resonar and Italian risonare.^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in the Roman d'Eneas, meaning to send back a sound and to sound with resonances.^[3][7]

Semantic evolution

A figurative use came very early: Benoît de Sainte-Maure wrote about 1160 par trestot le munt Resona sis nons glorios “his glorious name resounded through all the world”.^[7][2][8] With the prefix in its full sense the verb also meant to send a sound back, and the construction résonner de “to ring with” is found once about 1200 and again from the end of the 16th century.^[2][7]

In the classical period it was used transitively for “to make (notes, verses) heard” (1553), a use that died out in the 19th century.^[2] Its derivatives are resonement “noise” (12th century), now résonnement,^[3] résonance (1372, Oresme) and résonateur (1870).^[5]

Timeline

• c. 1130 – The GLLF, the Grand Robert and Rey date the Roman d'Eneas use here.^[7][4][2]
• c. 1155 – The form resuner.^[2]
• c. 1160 – First record in the TLFi, in the Roman d'Eneas.^[3]
• c. 1160 – Benoît de Sainte-Maure uses it figuratively.^[7][2]
• c. 1200 – Résonner de in the Lai d'Ignaure.^[7]
• 1372 – Oresme uses the derivative résonance.^[5]
• 1380 – The spelling resonner.^[2]
• 1553 – Transitive use “to make heard”.^[2]
• Early 17th century – The accented spelling résonner.^[2]
• 1870 – The derivative résonateur.^[5]

Meanings

Verb

1. (intransitive) To give out a sound amplified or prolonged by resonance; to ring, resound: les cloches résonnaient au loin “the bells rang out in the distance”.^[9][3][1]
2. Of a sound: to ring out with resonances, to echo.^[9][8]
3. Of a place: to fill with sound and echoes;^[9][8] résonner de, to ring with.^[9][8]
4. (figurative) Of a place or the world: to be full of talk of something.^[8]
5. (physics) To resonate, vibrate in response to another vibration.^[1]

Word family

• résonance
• résonateur
• résonnement

Related words

• sonner
• son²
• Latin resonō

Usage notes

It takes the auxiliary avoir.^[8]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ a b c d e f 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
4. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b c d e 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. 10, 305a
7. ^ 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
8. ^ a b c d e f g 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