ressource

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ʁə.suʁs/^[1]

Forms

ressource f (plural ressources)^[1] Resorce, resorse (about 1160), remade as ressourse, ressource after source in the early 15th century.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is the feminine past participle, used as a noun, of the old verb resourdre (“to rise again; to recover”) (late 10th century “resurdre” “to rise from the dead”),^[4][2][5][6] from Latin resurgō (“to rise again; to recover”), from re- and surgō (“to rise”).^[2][1] The verb is the inherited doublet of resurgir.^[2] Cognate with Italian risorsa.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Chronique des ducs de Normandie (about 1160–1175) has resourse “help, succour”, the aid obtained from a country.^[4][2]

Semantic evolution

In Old and Middle French the word also meant “recovery, revival” (15th century).^[2][5] In 1422 Alain Chartier used it for a means of getting out of a difficult situation, whence sans ressource (early 15th century) and en dernière ressource.^[4][2] In falconry it was the hawk's climb after a stoop (1377), the source of the aviation sense, an aircraft's pull-out from a dive (1920).^[4][8]

Du Bellay (1558) used it for one's means of living, and the plural ressources for money and material means became usual;^[4][2] Montaigne (1588) for reserves of physical strength, and Bossuet (1687) for strength of mind, with homme plein de ressources (1718).^[4] From the late 18th century ressources were also a country's economic potential, and a language's means of expression (d'Alembert, 1779).^[2][4] Ressources humaines is the staff of a firm, and in computing a ressource is a shared part of a system (1975).^[2] The verb se ressourcer dates from about 1978.^[2]

Timeline

• Late 10th century – Resurdre “to rise again”.^[4]
• c. 1160 – Resorce “help”.^[3][4]
• 1377 – A falconry term.^[4]
• 1422 – “Recourse”, in Alain Chartier.^[4]
• 1558 – Means of living, in du Bellay.^[4]
• 1588 – Reserves of strength, in Montaigne.^[4]
• 1920 – An aircraft's pull-out.^[4][8]

Meanings

Noun

1. A resource, recourse, means of getting out of difficulty: en dernière ressource.^[9][10]
2. (plural) Financial means; a country's natural or economic resources.^[10][2]
3. (plural) Abilities, resourcefulness: un homme plein de ressources, avoir de la ressource.^[11][4]
4. Ressources humaines: human resources, personnel.^[2]
5. (aviation) A pull-out from a dive.^[11][4]
6. (computing) A resource shared by users.^[11][2]

Word family

• se ressourcer
• ressourcement

Related words

• source
• sourdre
• surgir
• Latin resurgō
• English resource

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 Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p 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
5. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 10, 327b
7. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ a b Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
9. ^ Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
10. ^ a b Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
11. ^ a b c Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)