rajeunir

Forms

rajeunir^[1] Old French rajovenir, rejovener (12th century) and rejeunir (13th century).^[2][3] In the 16th century renjeunir was also common.^[4]

Etymology

It is formed from French ra- + jeune + -ir, the prefix being re- combined with a- (from Latin ad-).^[5][1][6] The Old French verbs rejovener and rajovenir were built on the old forms of the adjective; rejeunir and then the modern verb remade them on the later form.^[2][3] Littré analysed it instead as the prefix ⟨re-⟩ plus an unused ajeunir.^[4] The adjective goes back to juvenis (“young”).^[7]

Cognate with Old Occitan rejovenir, Italian ringiovanire and Walloon rageoni.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Alexandre de Paris's Roman d'Alexandre (1180–90) has both the transitive “make young again”, of a water that rejuvenates people, and the intransitive “become young again”.^[8]

Semantic evolution

Since the course of time cannot be reversed, the verb soon leaned on the extended senses of jeune: “give or take on a look of youth”.^[2] It was used of things that renew themselves or regain vigour (Ronsard, 1563),^[8] of giving something old a new look (La Fontaine, 1682),^[8] and of looking younger (1677).^[8] The pronominal se rajeunir “make oneself look younger” dates from 1779, the phrase cela ne nous rajeunit pas from 1811, and the sense “credit someone with fewer years” from 1850.^[2][9]

A collective sense, “lower the average age of a group”, belongs to the 20th century,^[2] first in military use (Péguy, 1913).^[10]

Timeline

• 1180–90 – Alexandre de Paris uses it transitively and intransitively.^[8]
• late 12th century – The pronominal se rajovenist in Partonopeus de Blois.^[8]
• c. 1320 – The spelling rajeunir in the Roman de Fauvel.^[5]
• 1563 – Ronsard uses it of things regaining vigour.^[8]
• 1682 – La Fontaine uses it for giving an old thing a new look.^[8]
• 1779 – Se rajeunir “make oneself look younger”.^[2][9]
• 1811 – Cela ne nous rajeunit pas.^[2][9][5]
• 1913 – Péguy uses it for lowering an army's average age.^[10]

Meanings

Verb

1. (transitive) To make young again, rejuvenate.^[9][8]
2. (transitive) To make look younger: ce costume le rajeunit.^[9]
3. (transitive) To take years off someone's age, believe them younger than they are.^[9][4]
4. (transitive) To give a new, modern look to something old, renovate.^[8][5]
5. (transitive) To lower the average age of a group.^[2][10]
6. (intransitive) To become or look younger.^[8][1]
7. (reflexive) Se rajeunir: to try to look younger, or claim to be younger.^[9]

Word family

• rajeunissement
• rajeunissant
• rajeunisseur

Related words

• jeune
• jeunesse
• Latin juvenis

Usage notes

Cela ne nous rajeunit pas (“that doesn't make us any younger”) is said of an event or memory that brings home the speakers' age.^[9][2][4] Littré records the older gardening use for cutting back the dying branches of trees.^[4]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d e f Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
5. ^ a b c d 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. 5, 94a
7. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
8. ^ 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
9. ^ a b c d e f g h Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
10. ^ a b c Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF