reposer
reposer1 to rest
Pronunciation
- IPA: /ʁə.po.ze/[1]
Forms
reposer[1] Old French repauser (10th century), respelt reposer after pose (about 1050).[2][3]
Etymology
The verb “to rest” is inherited from Late Latin repausō (“to calm; to rest”) (4th century), from the intensive re- and Late Latin pausō (“to cease, stop”) (see poser), from pausa (“stop, pause”) (see pause).[2][4][3][5][6][1]
Compare Italian riposare, Old Occitan repausar, Spanish reposar and Portuguese repousar.[2][7]
Earliest recorded meaning
The 10th-century Fragment de Valenciennes has E repauser se podist “and he could rest”; from the first texts se reposer means to stop working or moving so as to recover from fatigue.[7][2]
Semantic evolution
The intransitive “to lie at rest” (about 1050, Vie de saint Alexis) is now literary, and the transitive “to rest (the body)” is from about 1112.[2][3] About 1150 it was used of the dead, first of a saint's relics, whence the epitaph ici repose (1690).[2] With a preposition it expresses being placed on a support, and figuratively being founded on something.[2][8] Se reposer meant “to calm down” in the early 17th century, se reposer sur qqn is to rely on someone.[2][1] The noun repos is in the Chanson de Roland.[4]
Timeline
- 10th century – Repauser, Fragment de Valenciennes.[7]
- c. 1050 – The form reposer.[2]
- c. 1080 – Repos, Chanson de Roland.[4]
- c. 1112 – To rest the body, Voyage de saint Brendan.[5]
- c. 1150 – Of the dead.[2]
- 1690 – Ici repose.[2]
Meanings
Verb
- Se reposer: to rest, take a rest, se reposer sur, to rely on, se reposer sur ses lauriers, to rest on one's laurels.[1][2]
- To rest, relax (the body or mind): reposer ses jambes, cela repose les yeux.[1][7]
- (literary, intransitive) To lie at rest; to sleep: il ne dort pas, il repose.[8][3]
- (intransitive) Of the dead, to lie, be buried: ici repose…, qu'il repose en paix.[8][2]
- (intransitive) Reposer sur: to rest on, be based on.[1][8]
Word family
- repos
- reposant
- reposoir
- reposée
reposer2 to put down again
Pronunciation
- IPA: /ʁə.po.ze/[1]
Forms
reposer (transitive)[9]
Etymology
The verb “to put back” is from French re- + poser.[9][3][8][5] Earlier, “repoisier” meant “to put down” (15th century) and “reposer” “to deposit goods” (Monet, 1636).[3][5]
Earliest recorded meaning
The TLFi first records it in Musset (1831), in the sense “to put down again”; the Grand Robert and the Petit Robert date it to Théophile Gautier (1838).[9][3][8]
Meanings
Verb
- To put down again: reposer son verre, (military) reposez arme !, order arms.[8][9]
- To put back in place, refit: reposer une moquette.[8][5]
- To ask again: reposer la question.[8]
Word family
- repose
Related words
- poser
- pause
- Latin repausō
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
- ^ a b c d e f g Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
- ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
- ^ a b c d e Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
- ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 10, 263a
- ^ a b c d Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
- ^ a b c d 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