reproduction

Forms

reproduction f (plural reproductions)^[1]

Etymology

It is a derivative from French reproduire, modelled on production.^[2][3][4][5] Littré analyses it as from French re- + production.^[6] The verb is formed on produire, which goes back to Latin prōdūcō (“to lead forth, produce”).^[5][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Furetière's dictionary of 1690 has it for the act by which living beings perpetuate their species,^[2] or more broadly the act by which a thing is produced anew.^[3][5]

Semantic evolution

The biological sense came first and spread to plants: in 1762 the Académie used it for the natural or artificial means of multiplying plants,^[2] and in 1769 Charles Bonnet used it in zoology for the new parts that grow in place of those torn away, a sense now obsolete.^[2][5]

In the 18th century the word also took an active sense, the act of producing something again by imitation or repetition: Bonnet wrote of the reproduction des idées in 1754.^[2] In economics Quesnay used it in 1758 for the new production of what has been consumed,^[2][5] and after 1850 it came to mean the renewal of capital.^[5]

In 1839 it was used both for the republication of a literary work (Balzac) and for a copy of a work of art (Töpffer).^[2][5] The Bibliothèque des datations finds the sense of a reprinted text in 1850, before the TLFi's 1854 example.^[8] With the techniques of printing and photography it named the multiplying of copies of an image or text and, by metonymy, the copy itself.^[5][9]

Timeline

• 1690 – Furetière records it for the act by which living beings perpetuate their species.^[2][4]
• 1754 – Charles Bonnet writes of the reproduction des idées.^[2]
• 1758 – Quesnay uses it in economics for the renewed production of goods consumed.^[2][5]
• 1762 – The Académie uses it for the propagation of plants.^[2]
• 1769 – Bonnet applies it to parts that grow back after being torn off.^[2]
• 1839 – Balzac uses it for the republication of a work, and Töpffer for a copy of a work of art.^[2][8]
• 1850 – The Revue des deux mondes uses it for reprinted novels.^[8]
• 1870 – Littré records the sense “copy of an object”.^[9][4]

Meanings

Noun

1. (biology) The function by which living beings produce others like themselves: reproduction sexuée, reproduction asexuée.^[9][2]
2. The breeding of animals, and the propagation of plants by sowing, cuttings or layering.^[9][5]
3. (demography) Taux de reproduction: the rate at which one generation replaces the one before.^[9]
4. The faithful rendering or imitation of something: la reproduction du son.^[9]
5. The act of copying an original and multiplying its copies by a technical process: droit de reproduction, reproduction interdite.^[9][5]
6. A copy of an object, especially an image or replica of a work of art: une reproduction d'un tableau de Monet.^[9][2]
7. (formal) The perpetuating of something by a similar production: the reproduction of knowledge or of social models.^[9]

Related words

• reproduire
• production
• produire
• reproducteur
• Latin prōdūcō

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 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
7. ^ Picoche, Jacqueline (1991), Dictionnaire étymologique du français, Paris: Le Robert (Les Usuels du Robert)
8. ^ a b c Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
9. ^ 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