relatif

Forms

relatif (feminine relative, masculine plural relatifs, feminine plural relatives)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Late Latin relātīvus, a scholastic term for what holds only in relation to certain conditions, also used in grammar.^[2][3] The Late Latin adjective is derived from relātiō (“relation, reference”),^[2][4] itself from Latin relātum, the supine of referō (“to bring back, report”).^[3][5] Bloch and Wartburg treat the philosophical word (1256) and the grammatical word (14th century, Oresme) as two borrowings, the second from the Latin of the grammarians.^[4]

Cognate with Italian relativo, Spanish relativo and Occitan relatiu.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLFi's first record is about 1265 in Brunetto Latini's Trésor, meaning what is such only in relation to certain conditions;^[2] the Robert dictionaries and Bloch–Wartburg date this philosophical sense to 1256.^[5][7][4]

Semantic evolution

The word kept the Late Latin philosophical sense, opposed to absolu, and was made a noun, le relatif, when philosophical terms were systematised (1803).^[3][2] As a term of logic (1370, Oresme) it described a term whose idea implies a relation with another, as grand and petit.^[3][2] The philosophical sense reached everyday use with relatif à “concerning”, which Rey and the GLLF date to about 1380 and the TLFi to 1723 (Marivaux).^[3][8][2]

In the 18th century it also described what depends on the state of the subject (1760) and what is acceptable without being fully satisfactory (about 1776, Rousseau).^[3][8] From medieval Latin usage came the grammatical sense (1562, Ramus) for pronouns that link a word to a clause;^[3][2] un relatif names such a pronoun (1680), une relative the clause.^[3][2] In music it describes a key with the same signature as a key of the other mode (1737, Rameau), and in mechanics a motion studied against a moving frame (1923).^[3][2]

Timeline

• c. 1265 – First recorded, in Brunetto Latini's Trésor.^[2]
• 1370 – Oresme uses it as a term of logic.^[3]
• c. 1380 – First used as a noun, by Jean Lefèvre.^[2]
• 1562 – Ramus uses it in grammar.^[2][3]
• 1680 – Richelet records relatif as a noun for the relative pronoun.^[8][3]
• 1723 – Relatif à in Marivaux.^[2]
• 1737 – Rameau uses it in music.^[2][3]
• 1803 – Maine de Biran writes le relatif, opposed to the absolute.^[2]
• 1805 – The derivative relativité is first recorded.^[4][3]
• 1870 – Proposition relative is recorded by Littré.^[8][3]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Relatif à: concerning, relating to: les documents relatifs à la vente.^[2][9]
2. Considered in relation to something else; in the plural, mutual, respective.^[9][7]
3. Not absolute: holding only in relation to certain conditions.^[2][7][10]
4. Incomplete, only moderate: un confort relatif.^[3][8]
5. (mathematics) Entier relatif: an integer carrying a plus or minus sign.^[9][7]
6. (music) Of keys: having the same key signature, one major and one minor.^[7][2]
7. (grammar) Linking a word to a clause: pronom relatif, proposition relative.^[3][6]

Noun

1. (philosophy) Le relatif: what is relative, as opposed to the absolute.^[2][10][6]
2. (grammar) A relative pronoun.^[3][6]

Word family

• relativiser
• relativité
• relativisme
• relativement

Related words

• relater
• relation
• relationnel
• Latin relātīvus

References

1. ^ a b 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 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 p q r Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
5. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ a b c d Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
7. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ a b c d e Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
9. ^ a b c Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
10. ^ a b Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)