sérieux

Pronunciation

• IPA: /se.ʁjø/^[1]

Forms

sérieux (feminine sérieuse, masculine plural sérieux, feminine plural sérieuses)^[1] The Académie wrote serieux until 1718 and sérieux from 1740.^[2]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Medieval Latin sēriōsus (“serious”), from classical sērius (“grave, earnest”), used of things (“verba sēria”).^{[2][3][4][5][1][6]} In Latin “sērium” “a serious matter” was opposed to iocus (“jest”), Rey notes that “sērius” has been compared with Old High German and Lithuanian words meaning “heavy”.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Oresme, translating Aristotle's Ethics (1370–71), opposes virtue in games to virtue en autres choses qui sont appellees serieuses, things of importance.^[2][7]

Semantic evolution

The word was taken up again in the 16th century: Montaigne (1580) has un ouvrage serieux as opposed to a lighter one, and visage sérieux (1588), of a person who does not laugh.^[2][3] In the 17th century it meant reflective, responsible (La Rochefoucauld), and well behaved, chaste (fille modeste et serieuse, Furetière 1690); a demande sérieuse is sincere (1690), and an affair that turns sérieuse dangerous (1718).^[2][3] Pièce sérieuse (1664) and Diderot's genre sérieux (1757) lie between tragedy and comedy.^[2] As a noun, le sérieux (1647, criticised by Vaugelas) gave garder son sérieux (1707) and prendre au sérieux (1694, 1765–70).^[2][3] Acheteur sérieux dates from 1871, and popular speech uses sérieux as an adverb (Zola) and an interjection, “really?”.^[3][8][1]

Timeline

• 1370–71 – “Important”, Oresme.^[2]
• c. 1380 – Sérieusement.^[3]
• 1580 – “Not for amusement”, Montaigne.^[2]
• 1588 – Of a person, “grave”, Montaigne.^[2]
• 1647 – The noun le sérieux.^[2]
• 1707 – Garder son sérieux, Lesage.^[2]
• 1757 – Genre sérieux, Diderot.^[2]
• 1871 – Acheteur sérieux.^[8]

Meanings

Adjective

1. serious, responsible, reliable: un élève sérieux, une entreprise sérieuse.^[9][1]
2. Grave, solemn: un air sérieux.^[2][7]
3. In earnest, sincere: c'est sérieux?, une proposition sérieuse.^[2][9]
4. Serious, dangerous: la situation est sérieuse.^[9][2]
5. Considerable: une sérieuse augmentation.^[9][2]
6. Not frivolous: une lecture sérieuse.^[9][8]

Noun

1. Seriousness: garder son sérieux, to keep a straight face, prendre au sérieux, to take seriously.^[10][2]
2. (popular) A one-litre beer glass.^[10][11]

Interjection

1. (informal) Sérieux?: seriously? really?^[1]

Word family

• sérieusement

Related words

• Latin sērius

References

1. ^ a b c d e f 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 q r 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. ^ a b c d e f g Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
5. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 11, 514b
7. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
9. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
10. ^ a b Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
11. ^ Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF