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rompre

Etymology and origin of the French word rompre

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
late 10th century, Passion of Clermont
Inherited from
Latin rumpo via Old French
Ultimate origin
Latin (rumpō)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin rumpo
French rompre

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ʁɔ̃pʁ/[1]

Forms

rompre[1] First written rumpre (about 980); rompre from the 11th century.[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French rompre, inherited from Latin rumpō (“to break, burst”), used in Latin of physical breaking as well as of breaking off.[4][2][5][6] The nasal infix of the Latin present stem is peculiar to Latin; the root, with a /p/ beside /b/, is Indo-European, seen in Old English rēofan (“to break, tear”), Gothic 𐍂𐌰𐌿𐍀𐌾𐌰𐌽 (raupjan) and Sanskrit रुप्यति (rúpyati).[2]

Cognate with Italian rompere, Spanish romper, Portuguese romper, Catalan rompre, Occitan rompre and Romanian rupe.[7][8] Meyer-Lübke notes that in the dialects of northern France it has been almost entirely ousted by casser.[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the Clermont Passion (late 10th century) it means to break, smash; the Chanson de Roland has it for splitting in two by force (1100).[4][2]

Semantic evolution

The sense “to break” was usual until the 17th century, then gave way to briser and above all casser;[2] rompre now stresses a deliberate act or has a literary tone.[2] Wace has it for tearing (about 1155) and for breaking an agreement, and, from about 1210 it meant to put an end to a state or situation, as in rompre le silence.[4][2] Intransitive “to break off relations” is in Oresme (1370).[4]

Many phrases date from the 16th and 17th centuries: Calvin's biblical rompre le pain (1541), rompre les oreilles (1549), rompre la glace (1601), rompre des lances (1612) and rompre en visière (1648).[4][2] Old à tout rompre “at the most” (1527) gave applaudir à tout rompre (1768).[4][2] In the army rompre les rangs is from 1807, and rompez ! “dismiss!” came to mean “go away”.[2][9] Rompre someone was to break them on the wheel (1659).[2]

Timeline

  • Late 10th century – Rumpre, in the Clermont Passion.[4][2]
  • c. 1155 – “To break (an agreement)”, in Wace.[4]
  • 1253 – Rompre une terre, to plough fallow land.[4]
  • 1370 – “To break off relations”, in Oresme.[4]
  • 1541 – Rompre le pain, in Calvin.[4]
  • 1601 – Rompre la glace.[4]
  • 1659 – “To break on the wheel”.[2]
  • 1768 – Applaudir à tout rompre.[2]
  • 1807 – Rompre les rangs.[2][9]

Meanings

Verb

  1. (literary) To break, snap: rompre le pain, se rompre le cou.[7][10]
  2. To break (something flexible): rompre ses amarres, (figurative) rompre ses chaînes.[7][10]
  3. To interrupt, put an end to: rompre le silence, rompre un contrat.[7][1]
  4. (intransitive) To break off relations: rompre avec.[11][1]
  5. (intransitive, sport) To step back, give ground (fencing, boxing).[4][12]
  6. Rompre les rangs: to fall out, rompez !, dismiss![2][1]
  7. Applaudir à tout rompre: to applaud wildly, rompre la glace, to break the ice.[10][7]

Word family

  • rompu

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 k l m n o p Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  3. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m 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. ^ 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, 565b
  7. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  8. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  9. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  10. ^ a b c Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
  11. ^ Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
  12. ^ Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Rompre.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/rompre. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

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