Etymologically
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ravir

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ʁa.viʁ/[1]

Forms

ravir[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *rapīre, an alteration by change of conjugation of Latin rapere (“to carry off, seize by force; to plunder”).[2][3][4][5][1] Rey compares the Latin verb with Lithuanian ap-repiu (“I seize by force”) and Albanian rjep (“I take, I strip”), and calls it of Indo-European origin;[3][1] Wiktionary traces it through Proto-Italic *rapjō to Proto-Indo-European *h₁rep- (“to snatch”).[3][1]

Cognate with Italian rapire, Romanian răpi and Catalan rapir.[2][6][4] English rape goes back to the same Latin verb.[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Benedeit's Voyage de saint Brendan (about 1112) uses it with the Latin sense “to carry off by force”.[2][3][5] Twelfth-century texts speak of birds that les altres ravissent “seize the others” and of a bear à ki sunt raviz si ursetel “whose cubs have been taken”.[7]

Semantic evolution

With a thing as subject it came to mean taking someone from his family, especially by death (about 1450): la mort ayant ravi ce petit innocent, in Molière.[3][6][2] From the 12th century the stress moved to the idea of being carried away in spirit: in a mystical sense, “to carry up to heaven” (about 1170), then in a lay sense, “to fill with enthusiasm” (about 1220); être ravi en extase dates from 1319.[2][3]

In the 13th century it also took the weaker sense “to give pleasure to”, whence à ravir (1627 or 1645), first strong, now “wonderfully” (chanter à ravir).[3][2] The participle ravi “delighted” became a formula of politeness, as in je suis ravi de faire votre connaissance (before 1850).[3] The violent sense lives on in ravisseur “kidnapper” (late 12th century, ravisor) and ravage (14th century).[3][4]

Timeline

  • c. 1112 – “To carry off by force”, in the Voyage de saint Brendan.[2][3]
  • c. 1170 – “To carry up to heaven”, in the Quatre Livres des Rois.[2]
  • c. 1220 – “To fill with rapture”, in Gautier de Coinci.[5][3]
  • 1319 – Être ravi en extase.[2][3]
  • c. 1450 – “To take (someone) from his family”.[3][5]
  • 1645 – À ravir, in Scarron.[2]
  • 1690 – Furetière records “to take away from one's loved ones”.[2]

Meanings

Verb

  1. (literary) To carry off by force, abduct; to seize, steal (what belongs to another).[6][1]
  2. (literary) To take (someone) from those who love him, from life: la mort ayant ravi ce petit innocent (Molière).[6][2]
  3. (religion) To carry up to heaven, être ravi en extase, to be carried away in ecstasy.[6][3]
  4. To delight, enchant, fill with joy.[1][6]
  5. À ravir: wonderfully, admirably: chanter à ravir.[3][6]

Word family

  • ravi
  • ravissant
  • ravissement
  • ravisseur
  • ravage

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l 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 j k l m n o Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  5. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  6. ^ 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
  7. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette