révéler

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ʁe.ve.le/^[1]

Forms

révéler^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin revēlō (“to uncover, unveil”), from re- marking movement back and vēlō (“to cover, veil”) (see voiler), from vēlum (“veil”).^{[2][3][4][5][6]} In Late Latin Christian writers used it for God's making knowledge known to men, the sense in which it was first borrowed.^[3][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

It first appears in the Cambridge Psalter (first half of the 12th century) in the religious sense “to make known by divine revelation”.^[2][3][5]

Semantic evolution

The general sense “to make known what was unknown or secret” is in Wace's Roman de Rou (1160–1174): n'est chose si reposte qui ne soit revelee.^[2][3] Descartes has vérité révélée (1637), and religion révélée is recorded in 1725.^[2] Racine used it with a person as object, “to reveal the identity of” (1691).^[3][5]

With a thing as subject it came to mean “to be the sign of” (Chénier, 1794).^[2] The photographic sense “to develop” (1895) probably follows révélateur.^[2][3] Reflexive se révéler “to be disclosed” is in Montesquieu (1715); “to show oneself in a new light” is from 1807, and of a sportsman or actor, to show one's talent (1886, 1906); with an adjective it means “to prove (to be)” (1875, Proust 1922).^[2][3]

Timeline

• c. 1120 – Religious sense, in the Cambridge Psalter.^[2][7]
• 1160–1174 – “To disclose a secret”, in Wace.^[2]
• 1637 – Vérité révélée, in Descartes.^[2]
• 1715 – Se révéler, in Montesquieu.^[2]
• 1725 – Religion révélée.^[2]
• 1794 – “To be the sign of”, in Chénier.^[2]
• 1886 – Of a sportsman showing his talent.^[2]
• 1895 – Photographic sense.^[2]

Meanings

Verb

1. To reveal, disclose (what was unknown or secret): révéler ses intentions.^[8][9]
2. (religion) To make known by revelation: les religions révélées.^[8][5]
3. To show, be the sign of.^[5][2]
4. Révéler quelqu'un à lui-même: to make someone discover what they really are.^[8][9]
5. (photography) To develop (an image).^[1][3]
6. Se révéler: to show oneself, to come out; with an adjective, to prove (to be).^[1][3]

Word family

• révélé
• révélable

Related words

• révélation
• révélateur
• voile
• voiler
• Latin revēlō

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 n o p 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 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. ^ a b c d e Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 10, 349b
7. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
8. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ a b Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)