résumé

Forms

résumé m (plural résumés)^[1]

Etymology

Used as a noun, it is the past participle from French résumer (“to sum up”).^[2][3][4][5] The verb is from Latin resūmō (“to take up again, resume”), from re- (“again”) and sūmō (“to take”).^[2][1][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded in 1750, in Prévost's dictionary under résumer, for the summary of many documents, proofs and arguments.^[2][6]

Semantic evolution

Bloch and Wartburg and the GLLF date the noun to the Académie's dictionary of 1762, and Littré cites Voltaire in 1767.^[5][3][7] By the same shift as abrégé, it came to name a short work giving the essentials of a subject (1825, Hugo).^[2][4] The adverbial phrase en résumé “in short” dates from 1803 (Destutt de Tracy).^[2][4]

English took résumé from French in 1804 as “summary”; the American sense “summary of a person's career” arose in the 1940s.^[8]

Timeline

• 1750 – First recorded, in Prévost's dictionary.^[2]
• 1762 – Recorded by the Académie.^[5][3]
• 1803 – En résumé, in Destutt de Tracy.^[2]
• 1804 – English borrows résumé.^[8]
• 1825 – A short compendium, in Hugo's letters.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A summary, a short account giving the essentials of what was said or written: le résumé d'un roman.^[9][3][2]
2. An abstract of an academic paper.^[1]
3. A short book or compendium setting out the essentials of a subject: des résumés de géographie.^[9][3][2]
4. En résumé: in short, all things considered.^[9][2]

Related words

• résumer
• abrégé
• Latin resūmō
• English résumé

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 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 Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
4. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b c d Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
6. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
8. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
9. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert