regret

Forms

regret m (plural regrets)^[1] Old French regret, plural regrés.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is from Old French regreter (“to lament”), as a deverbal noun of the verb now spelled regretter.^[2][4][5][1]

The verb is of uncertain origin.^[6] It probably comes from re- and an unrecorded verb borrowed from Old Norse gráta (“to weep, groan”), related to English greet (“to weep”);^[6][7][8] the prefix was added after verbs of feeling such as repentir and remémorer, and the vowel ⟨e⟩ beside the rarer Old French regrater (about 1190) is put down to alternations such as acheter beside achater.^[6][7] Guiraud proposed instead Vulgar Latin *recrepitō (“to cry out one's grief”), from Latin crepitō, a frequentative of crepō;^[6] Rey thinks the Old French form with ⟨a⟩ tells against this.^[6] Etymonline also notes that the verb has no counterpart in the other Romance languages.^[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in 1150, as the plural regrés “laments, complaints” in Floire et Blancheflor.^[2] About 1165 Benoît de Sainte-Maure has faire regret de “to show one's grief over”.^[2][5]

Semantic evolution

In Old French the noun, like the verb, belonged to mourning: faire regret de was to grieve aloud for someone, faire regret à qqn to reproach a person, and the plural regrets meant laments.^[6][2] In Middle French avoir regret à (1377) meant “to be anxious about”.^[2][6]

The modern sense, the painful feeling caused by the loss or absence of someone or something, dates from the end of the 15th century;^[6][2] le regret du passé is in Marguerite de Navarre in 1525.^[6][2] In 1530 Palsgrave records it for remorse at what one has done or failed to do.^[2][5] À regret “unwillingly” is recorded about 1470,^[2][6] and polite formulas followed: à mon grand regret (1790, Mme de Staël), avoir le regret de (1834), and the funeral inscription regrets éternels (1869).^[6][2][5]

English took the noun in the 1530s, first in the sense “complaint, lament”.^[9]

Timeline

• 1150 – Regrés “laments” appears in Floire et Blancheflor.^[2]
• c. 1165 – Benoît de Sainte-Maure uses faire regret de “to show grief over”.^[2][5]
• 1377 – Avoir regret a “to be anxious about” in Gace de la Buigne.^[2][6]
• c. 1470 – À regret “with displeasure” in Georges Chastellain.^[2]
• 1525 – Marguerite de Navarre writes le regret du passé.^[2]
• 1530 – Palsgrave records the sense “remorse”.^[2][5]
• 1530s – English borrows regret.^[9]
• 1672 – Molière uses avoir regret de “to be sorry to”.^[2]
• 1790 – À mon grand regret in Mme de Staël.^[2][6]
• 1869 – Regrets éternels as a funeral formula.^[6][5]

Meanings

Noun

1. A painful feeling at the loss or absence of someone or something; nostalgia: le regret du pays natal.^[10][1]
2. Regrets éternels: a formula on tombstones and funeral wreaths.^[10][6]
3. Regret or remorse for something one has done or failed to do, as in Il n'a aucun regret d'avoir quitté son poste.^[10][2]
4. Disappointment at a situation that thwarts one's wishes.^[10][2]
5. À regret: unwillingly, as in Elle a accepté à regret.^[10][2]
6. An expression of apology in polite formulas: avoir le regret de, être au regret de, à mon grand regret, tous mes regrets.^[10][6]

Related words

• regretter
• regrettable
• English regret

Usage notes

Old slang called the scaffold l'abbaye de Monte-à-regret.^[10] The final t is silent, but the s of the plural is sounded in liaison: des regrets éternels.^[3]

References

1. ^ a b c d 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 u v 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 Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
4. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ 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
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
8. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 16, 53a
9. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
10. ^ a b c d e f g Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert