sédiment

Forms

sédiment m (plural sédiments)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin sedimentum (“settling, subsidence; deposit”),^[2][3][4] an enlargement of sedimen (“deposit”), a medical term of the 5th century,^[4][5] derived from sedeō (“to sit; to settle, stay fixed”).^[2][4] Bloch and Wartburg think the Latin word was taken to render the medical term for a deposit in the urine, which was harder to adapt to French.^[6] In geology Rey sees a second borrowing, from the word of scientific Latin, which had taken this sense in the late 17th century after the work of Steno.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in Ambroise Paré (1564) as a medical term, for the solid matter that settles out of urine: un sediment ou lie espaisse et visqueuse “a sediment or thick, viscous lees”.^[2][7][4]

Semantic evolution

In 1611 Cotgrave records the general sense, a deposit formed by matter settling out of any liquid.^[2][4] The word passed into geology in the 18th century, for natural deposits left by water or wind: the TLFi and the Petit Robert date this sense to 1715, Rey and the GLLF to 1779, with Horace-Bénédict de Saussure.^[2][8][4][5] Its derivatives are mostly geological terms: sédimentaire (1838), sédimentation (1861) and sédimenter (1922).^[4] English sediment (1540s) is from French and directly from Latin.^[9]

Timeline

• 1564 – Paré uses sediment for the deposit of urine.^[2]
• 1611 – Cotgrave records the general sense “deposit in a liquid”.^[2]
• 1715 – First recorded as a geological term.^[2][8]
• 1718 – The adjective sédimenteux appears, later replaced by sédimentaire.^[6]
• 1779 – Horace-Bénédict de Saussure uses it for natural deposits.^[5][4]
• 1838 – Sédimentaire is recorded.^[4]
• 1861 – Sédimentation is recorded.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. A deposit formed by matter in suspension or solution settling out of a liquid; précipité, résidu.^[2][10][5]
2. (medicine) A deposit in an organic liquid, especially in urine: sédiment urinaire.^[8][11][7]
3. (geology), mostly in the plural: a natural deposit of particles left by water, wind or ice: sédiments marins, sédiments glaciaires.^[8][11][5]
4. (figurative) What is left behind by successive influences.^[8][7]

Word family

• sédimentaire
• sédimentation
• sédimenter

Related words

• seoir
• Latin sedimentum
• English sediment

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 11, 412b
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b c d e Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
6. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
7. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
10. ^ Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
11. ^ a b Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)