retraire

Forms

retraire^[1] Old French and Anglo-Norman spellings include retraire, retreire and retrere.^[2][3] It is conjugated like traire.^[4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French retraire, inherited from Latin retrahō (“to draw back, withdraw”), formed from re- “back” and trahō (“to draw, drag”).^[3][5][6] Rey describes it as a word that came down by oral tradition.^[7]

Cognate with Italian ritrarre, Spanish retraer, Old Occitan retraire and Catalan retreure.^[4][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

Rey and the Grand Robert date it to 1080, in the Chanson de Roland, where it means “to relate, tell”.^[7][6][5] The TLFi also lists Rashi's glosses of the late 11th century, where the past participle retrait means “shrunken”.^[3]

Semantic evolution

In the 12th century the reflexive soi retraire meant to keep away from something, to escape it, to give it up, and to take shelter (from about 1140 to 1160), and the verb was used of the sea ebbing (1155–1174).^[3] From about 1160 it also meant to take away or remove.^[3] In law it meant, from 1239, to exercise the right of lineal repurchase.^[3] The sense “to relate” lasted into the 15th century.^[3]

As the simple verb traire gave way to tirer, retraire gave way to retirer and survives only as a literary and legal archaism.^[7] Trévoux (1721–1771) and the Académie's supplement of 1842 already called it old.^[3] Its two past participles lived on as the nouns retrait and retraite.^[7] The participle retrait “shrunken” was used of grain (blé retrait, 1762) and in heraldry (1681).^[3]

Timeline

• 1080 – The Chanson de Roland uses it for “to relate, tell”.^[6][5][7]
• Late 11th century – Rashi's glosses have retrait “shrunken”.^[3]
• c. 1140 – Gaimar uses soi retraire “to keep away from”.^[3]
• 1155 – Wace's Brut has al flo retraiant “at low tide”.^[3]
• c. 1160 – The Roman d'Énéas uses it for “to take away, remove”.^[3]
• 1239 – First used in law for exercising the right of repurchase.^[3]
• 1762 – The Académie records blé retrait.^[3]

Meanings

Verb

1. (archaic) To withdraw, take away.^[3][1]
2. (law, archaic) To exercise a right of retrait, to buy back property that has been sold: retraire une terre.^[3][4][5]
3. (reflexive, literary) Se retraire: to withdraw, retire.^[3]
4. (reflexive) Se retraire: to contract, shrink.^[3]

Word family

• retrait
• retraite

Related words

• traire
• retirer
• Latin retrahō

Usage notes

A separate verb retraire “to milk again”, formed from traire, is recorded in 1832.^[3]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t 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 Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
5. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
6. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ a b c d e Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter