raffiner

Forms

raffiner^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from French re- + affiner.^{[2][3][4][5][1]} The verb affiner is itself a derivative of fin²,^[6] filed by the FEW under Latin fīnis.^[7] The TLFi compares the Middle French form refiner, recorded in 1468 of refining sugar in a text on Cyprus.^[2] The Grand Robert and the DHLF date the verb itself, used of sugar, to 1468, while the TLFi, the GLLF and the Petit Robert give 1519 as the first record of the verb.^{[4][6][2][8][5]}

Earliest recorded meaning

In its first record in the TLFi, a Tournai register of 1519, a man is said to have refined and repaired the town's saltpetre: the sense is “to purify a substance of its impurities”.^[2]

Semantic evolution

The concrete sense spread through the trades: metals in 1669, sugar in Richelet's dictionary of 1680, cheese in Furetière's of 1690, rags in papermaking in the Encyclopédie (1765) and petroleum in 1890.^[2] The derivatives raffinage and raffineur (both 1611) and raffinerie (1666) belong to this concrete sense; the refinery was later applied to oil.^[6]

The figurative sense “to make more delicate or subtle” appears around 1600: Olivier de Serres speaks of grafting refined by new additions in 1600, and Montchrestien asks God to refine souls in 1604.^[2] The intransitive use “to seek the utmost delicacy or subtlety” is found in Corneille (1660) and Boileau (1666).^[2] The past participle gave les raffinés d'honneur, gentlemen touchy on points of honour, in d'Aubigné (1617), and an adjective raffiné “refined, sophisticated” from 1642; raffinement dates from 1600.^[2][6] With sur, the verb means to carry care or elegance to the extreme.^[2][8]

Timeline

• 1468 – The Middle French form refiner is used of refining sugar.^[2]
• 1519 – Raffiner is used of saltpetre in a register of Tournai.^[2]
• 1600 – Olivier de Serres uses it figuratively of the art of grafting.^[2]
• 1604 – Montchrestien writes of refining souls.^[2][5]
• 1611 – First records of raffinage and raffineur.^[6]
• 1617 – D'Aubigné calls certain gentlemen raffinés d'honneur.^[2]
• 1660 – Corneille uses it intransitively, “to excel, carry to the extreme”.^[2]
• 1680 – Richelet records raffiner le sucre.^[2]
• 1765 – The Encyclopédie uses it in papermaking.^[2]
• 1890 – Larousse applies it to petroleum.^[2]

Meanings

Verb

1. (transitive) To refine a raw material by removing its impurities: sugar, paper, oil, metals, as in Cette usine raffine du pétrole brut.^[5][2][9]
2. (transitive, literary) To make more delicate, subtle or elegant; to polish (manners, style): Il a raffiné son style au fil des années.^[5][8][10]
3. (transitive, pejorative) To push the search for refinement to excess: raffiner sa cruauté.^[8]
4. (intransitive) To seek the greatest delicacy or subtlety; with sur, to be overly fastidious about something: Inutile de raffiner sur la présentation.^[5][2]

Word family

• raffinage
• raffiné
• raffinerie
• raffinement
• raffineur

Related words

• affiner
• fin²
• Latin fīnis

References

1. ^ a b c 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 q r s t 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. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
4. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b c d e f Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ a b c d e Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 3, 565a
8. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
9. ^ Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
10. ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)