Etymologically
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revoir

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ʁə.vwaʁ/[1]

Forms

revoir[1] Old French revedeir (about 980), reveeir (1080), reveoir and revoir (late 12th century).[2][3]

Etymology

It is formed from French re- + voir, from the earliest Old French, Littré and Wiktionary allow that it may also continue Latin revideō (“to see again”).[4][2][5][1][6] “Voir” itself continues Latin videō (“to see”).[7]

Cognate with Italian rivedere and Spanish rever.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found at the end of the 10th century in the Passion of Clermont, as revedeir, “to see again a person seen before”.[3][2]

Semantic evolution

“To look again at something with pleasure” is in Du Bellay (1558), and “to go back to a place” in Montaigne (1588: les lieux et les livres que je revoy).[3] The reflexive se revoir meant “to find oneself again in a place” in Scarron (1651) and “to meet again” in Madame de Sévigné (1677).[3] In 1651 Corneille uses it for seeing again in one's memory.[3]

The sense “to examine again in order to correct” goes back to the 13th century (Isopet de Lyon), and revoir une leçon “to revise” to La Bruyère (1686).[2] The phrase au revoir is the usual way of taking leave; the noun revoir is a hunting term (1690), and à la revoyure (1821) is popular.[8][7]

Timeline

  • Late 10th century – Revedeir in the Passion of Clermont.[3]
  • 13th century – “To examine again”, in the Isopet de Lyon.[2]
  • 1317 – Revue.[7]
  • 1558 – “To look at again with pleasure”, in Du Bellay.[3]
  • 1588 – “To go back to a place”, in Montaigne.[3]
  • 1677 – Se revoir “to meet again”, in Madame de Sévigné.[3]
  • 1686 – “To revise (a lesson)”, in La Bruyère.[2]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To see again, meet again: j'aimerais le revoir, se revoir.[1][2]
  2. To go back to a place; to watch a show again.[2][3]
  3. To see again in memory: je le revois encore.[3][2]
  4. To look over again, revise, review: revoir un texte, revoir ses leçons.[1][2]

Noun

  1. Au revoir: goodbye, un au revoir, a farewell that is not final.[8]

Word family

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k 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. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 14, 423a
  7. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  8. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert