Etymologically
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sérieux

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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

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