sécréter

Forms

sécréter^[1]

Etymology

It is a back-formation from French sécrétion, made by replacing the ending of the noun with the verb ending.^[2][1][3][4] The noun was borrowed in 1495 from Latin sēcrētiō (“separation, dissolution”), from sēcernō (“to separate”), the verb also behind secret.^[5] Littré traced the verb straight to the Latin supine sēcrētum.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in March 1798, in the Bulletin of the Société philomatique of Paris, which speaks of juices sécrétés by a fruit: to produce by secretion.^[2][4]

Semantic evolution

Born in physiology, the verb is said of glands and tissues that produce a substance (the liver, bile; a gland, hormones), and also used without an object.^[2][7] In 1893 Courteline used it figuratively, for giving off or letting out something slowly and almost involuntarily, as a person or a place may give off boredom.^[2][8][4] The adjective sécréteur (1753) came to be felt as its derivative.^[8]

Timeline

• 1798 – Sécréter appears in the Bulletin of the Société philomatique.^[2][4]
• 1893 – Courteline uses it figuratively.^[2][4]

Meanings

Verb

1. (physiology) To secrete: to produce a substance by secretion: Les glandes salivaires sécrètent la salive.^[7][2][1]
2. To give off, let out slowly; to exude.^[7][4]
3. (figurative) To give off, give rise to (an atmosphere, a feeling): Ce bureau sécrète l'ennui.^[7][4]

Related words

• sécrétion
• sécréteur
• sécrétoire
• secret
• Latin sēcernō

Usage notes

The second é becomes è before a mute syllable (il sécrète); Littré excepted the future and conditional (sécréterai).^[6]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g 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. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d e f g Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
5. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
6. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
7. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert