rente

Forms

rente f (plural rentes)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French rente, inherited from Vulgar Latin *rendita (“what invested money yields”),^[2][3][4][5] the feminine, used as a noun, of a *renditus, an altered form of redditus, the past participle of reddō (“to return”).^[2][4] The Vulgar Latin verb *rendō owes its ⟨n⟩ to prendō (“to take”), its opposite in meaning.^[6] The noun is thus closely linked to rendre.^[4][7]

Cognate with Italian rendita, Catalan renda and Old Occitan renda.^[2][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in the early 12th century in the Voyage de saint Brendan with the general sense “restitution”, as the action noun of rendre; this sense remained Old French only.^[2][4][5]

Semantic evolution

Very early, by about 1119 in Philippe de Thaon, it took the special sense of a payment due at regular intervals for land or goods held, or in return for a capital given up.^[2][4] A figurative sense, “something unavoidable that comes back regularly” (1195–1200), died out.^[2][4] By extension it came to mean any regular income other than wages (about 1155 in Wace, about 1207 in Villehardouin), and vivre de ses rentes is recorded from the late 14th century in Froissart.^[2][4]

Molière used it in 1668–1670 for a person or thing one draws profit from.^[4][2] Phrases such as rente viagère (16th century), rente amortissable (1863) and rente perpétuelle (1870) belong to finance.^[4][5] Under the influence of English rent, it took the sense of the income from the yearly produce of land in political economy (1750),^[4] and in 1835 the Académie recorded it for a state loan paying interest.^[4][2] Rente de situation (1971) is an advantage held as a right though no longer earned.^[4]

The English word rent, recorded from the mid-12th century, comes from both the Old French noun and Medieval Latin renta.^[8]

Timeline

• early 12th century – Rente “restitution” appears in the Voyage de saint Brendan.^[2][5]
• c. 1119 – Philippe de Thaon uses it for a regular payment due for a property.^[2]
• c. 1155 – Wace uses it for the regular income of an estate.^[2]
• late 12th century – The derivative rentier is recorded as a feudal term.^[4]
• 1195–1200 – In Renart, it means something unavoidable that comes back regularly.^[2]
• late 14th century – Froissart writes vivre de ses rentes.^[2]
• 16th century – Rente viagère is recorded.^[5][4]
• 1670 – Molière uses it of a person one makes a profit from.^[2]
• 1750 – It takes the sense “ground rent” in political economy.^[4]
• 1835 – The Académie records it for an interest-bearing state loan.^[2][4]

Meanings

Noun

1. A regular income drawn from property or capital rather than from work: elle a quelques rentes.^[9][10][2]
2. Vivre de ses rentes: to live on one's private income, without working.^[9][10]
3. A sum one person must pay another at regular intervals by contract, judgment or will: rente viagère “life annuity”.^[9][10][1]
4. A state loan represented by bonds that pay interest.^[10][2]
5. (economics) Income from a scarce resource or from the ownership of land, as in rente foncière.^[11][7]
6. (figurative) A person or thing one draws a regular profit from.^[4][2]

Word family

• rentier
• renter
• arrenter

Related words

• rendre
• rendement
• Latin reddō
• English rent

References

1. ^ a b c 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. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 10, 173b
4. ^ 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
5. ^ a b c d e Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
6. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
7. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
9. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
10. ^ a b c d Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
11. ^ Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)