renonce

Forms

renonce f (plural renonces)^[1]

Etymology

It is a back-formation from French renoncer.^[3][4][5][6] The verb was borrowed from Latin renūntiō (“to report back, renounce”), which acquired its sense of giving something up in legal and church Latin.^[5][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Furetière records it in 1690 as a card-playing term, both for having no card of a suit and for failing to follow suit.^[3][4] The Académie included it in 1694 as the fault of not playing a card of the suit led when one has one.^[8]

Semantic evolution

The word has stayed in the language of card games.^[8][3] The first sense, the absence of a suit from one's hand, is now dated, and se faire une renonce meant to discard all one's cards of a suit so as to be able to trump it later.^[3][9] The second sense, failing to follow suit while holding a card of it, is the one still used, and in bridge it is penalised.^[3][6]

Timeline

• 1690 – Furetière records the word.^[3][4]
• 1694 – The first edition of the Académie's dictionary includes it.^[8]
• 1873 – Littré records se faire une renonce.^[9]

Meanings

Noun

1. (card games, dated) The absence of any card of a given suit in a player's hand.^[4][6][9]
2. (card games) A revoke: failing to follow suit when one holds a card of the suit led.^[4][3][6]

Related words

• renoncer
• renoncement
• renonciation

Usage notes

Se faire une renonce is to get rid of one's cards of a suit so as to be able to trump it.^[9][3]

References

1. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
2. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
3. ^ a b c d e f g h 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
4. ^ a b c d e Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
5. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
6. ^ a b c d Académie française (1992–2024), Dictionnaire de l'Académie française, 9th ed., Paris: Académie française / Fayard / Imprimerie nationale
7. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ a b c Académie française (1694), Le Dictionnaire de l'Académie françoise, 1st ed., Paris: Coignard
9. ^ a b c d Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette