redouter

Forms

redouter^[1] Old French redoter, Middle French redoubter.^[2][1][3] Anglo-Norman spellings include redocter.^[4]

Etymology

It is formed from French re- + douter, an intensive of the verb in its old sense “to fear”.^[2][5][6][7] The base verb goes back to Latin dubitō (“to doubt”), which also meant “to fear” in Late Latin.^[8][9][10] In Old French douter often meant “to fear”, a sense still found in 1613, and the sense survives in Gallo-Romance dialects, especially in Lorraine;^[8] the DHLF says that the prefixed verb drove out the simple one in this sense.^[5]

Compare Old Occitan redoptar and Italian ridottare.^[11]

Earliest recorded meaning

It first appears about 1050 in the Vie de saint Alexis as the reflexive se redouter, then as a transitive verb from about 1130, written redoter.^[5][3] The TLFi's first record is redoter in the Couronnement de Louis (about 1135).^[2] A 12th-century line quoted by Littré has com li asnes qui redoute le fais “like the donkey that dreads the load”.^[11]

Semantic evolution

The verb has kept the sense “to fear greatly” throughout its history,^[5][2] with the constructions redouter de and an infinitive, and redouter que and the subjunctive.^[3][7] The past participle used as an adjective, “dreaded”, is found about 1190 in Garnier de Pont-Sainte-Maxence.^[3]

Its derivative redoutable dates from the late 12th century and later also came to mean “inspiring fear” (before 1673); the old nouns redoutée and redoutance have disappeared.^[5]

Timeline

• c. 1050 – The Vie de saint Alexis has the reflexive se redouter.^[5][3]
• c. 1130 – The Eneas has the transitive verb, written redoter.^[3]
• c. 1135 – Redoter appears in the Couronnement de Louis.^[2]
• c. 1190 – Garnier de Pont-Sainte-Maxence uses the participle as an adjective.^[3]
• late 12th century – The spelling redouter and the adjective redoutable appear.^[3][5]
• 1613 – Douter is still found in the sense “to fear”.^[8]

Meanings

Verb

1. To dread, to fear greatly a person or thing seen as a threat.^[7][2][11]
2. To apprehend something to come: redouter de with an infinitive, redouter que with the subjunctive.^[7][3]
3. Se redouter: to be afraid of oneself.^[11]

Word family

• redoutable

Related words

• douter
• doute
• Latin dubitō

Usage notes

Littré also lists, under its own headword, an intransitive redouter “to doubt again”, formed with re- and douter, with a single 16th-century example.^[11]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f 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 Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
4. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
5. ^ a b c d e f g Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
9. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 3, 170a
10. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 2781
11. ^ a b c d e Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette