redresser

Forms

redresser^[1] Old French redrecier, redrescier;^[2][3] the spelling redresser appears in the 14th century.^[4]

Etymology

It is from French re- + dresser (“to raise, set up straight”), formed in Old French as redrecier.^[2][4][5][1] The base verb continues Vulgar Latin *directiō, from dīrēctus (“straight”), the participle of dīrigō.^[6][7]

Littré lists Picard eurdrecher, Walloon ridressî, Occitan redressar and Italian ridrizzare.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found about 1100 in the Chanson de Roland, used reflexively for getting back on one's feet: du faldestod il se redrece en piez “he rises from the faldstool to his feet”.^[8][3]

Semantic evolution

The physical sense “to set upright again” was soon matched by moral ones: “to bring someone back to the right path” (1174–1176, Guernes de Pont-Sainte-Maxence) and “to raise up spiritually” (late 13th century).^[8] “To straighten what is bent or twisted” is found in Chrétien de Troyes (1176–1181), and “to correct what is false or unjust” about 1280, first in the context of feudal law;^[8][4][5] redresser les torts is recorded by the Académie in 1798.^[8][4][5]

Reflexive se redresser, of a person, came to mean “to hold oneself very straight” (1674), with figurative uses of pride.^[5] In aviation the verb means to pull up the nose of an aeroplane (1920), and in the 20th century it was applied to restoring a difficult situation (1939); slang used it for “to look at” (1911) and “to recognise, identify” (1926).^[8][5]

Timeline

• c. 1100 – Se redrecier in the Chanson de Roland.^[8]
• 1174–1176 – “To turn someone from sin”, in Guernes de Pont-Sainte-Maxence.^[8]
• 1176–1181 – “To straighten something bent”, in Chrétien de Troyes.^[8]
• c. 1280 – “To correct what is wrong”, in the Clef d'Amors.^[8][4]
• 1559 – Amyot writes of setting statues upright again.^[8]
• 1798 – The Académie records redresser les torts.^[4]
• 1920 – The aviation sense.^[8][5]

Meanings

Verb

1. To set upright again, to raise to a vertical position: redresser un piquet, redresser la tête, to hold one's head up, to stop submitting.^[9][8]
2. To straighten what is bent or twisted: redresser une tige de fer.^[8][9]
3. (aviation) To pull up the nose of an aircraft, (driving) to straighten the wheels after a turn.^[9][8]
4. To put right, to restore a situation: redresser l'économie, redresser la barre, to take things in hand again.^[8][1]
5. To rectify, correct: redresser une erreur, redresser les torts, to right wrongs.^[8][4]
6. Se redresser: to stand or sit up straight; to recover.^[1][5]

Word family

• redressement
• redresseur
• redressage

Related words

• dresser
• adresser
• droit

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
4. ^ a b c d e f g Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
5. ^ a b c d e f g Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
7. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 3, 84a
8. ^ 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
9. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert