sabbatique

Forms

sabbatique (plural sabbatiques)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Late Latin sabbaticus (“sabbatical”), a word of Christian Latin (annus sabbaticus from the 5th century),^[2][3] from Ancient Greek σαββατικός (sabbatikós, “of the Sabbath”),^[2][1] ultimately from Biblical Hebrew שַׁבָּת (šabbāṯ, “Sabbath”).^[1] The phrase année sabbatique (first an sabbatique) translates the biblical Hebrew name of the “year of rest” (Leviticus 25:5).^[2] Bloch and Wartburg list it as a derivative of sabbat, and the Grand Robert and Petit Robert derive it from that word too.^[4][5][6]

The sense “year's leave” is a translation of American English sabbatical year (1886) and sabbatical leave (1903).^[2][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

In 1569 J. Le Frère's French Josephus speaks of “the seventh year, which they call sabbatique”, the year in which the Jews let the land rest.^[2] The DHLF and the Grand Robert describe the first use of 1569 as figurative, of a river that stopped flowing one day in seven;^[3][5] the GLLF dates that use to 1591.^[7]

Semantic evolution

As an adjective meaning “of the Sabbath” it is recorded only from 1611, in Cotgrave (as sabatique), after the adjective sabbathaire (1578), which has disappeared.^[2][3] Année sabbatique (1650) named the seventh year in which the land was left fallow and debts were not claimed; the DHLF calls this sense archaic as early as 1680, and an sabbathaire was also said (1587).^[3][2] From 1844 the adjective also refers to the witches' sabbath: rondes sabbatiques.^[2]

From English, année sabbatique came to mean a year of leave given every seven years to university teachers, first in the United States, then in Canada and other countries (1948 according to the Robert, 1968 in the Larousse).^[3][2][6] English sabbatical is recorded from the 1590s.^[8]

Timeline

• 1569 – An sabbatique appears in Le Frère's translation of Josephus.^[2][4]
• 1578 – The rival adjective sabbathaire is recorded.^[3]
• 1611 – Cotgrave records sabatique “of the Sabbath”.^[2][3]
• 1650 – Lancelot uses année sabbatique.^[2][3]
• 1844 – Pommier's rondes sabbatiques refers to the witches' sabbath.^[2]
• 1948 – Année sabbatique “academic leave” is borrowed from English.^[3][6]

Meanings

Adjective

1. (Judaism) Of or relating to the Sabbath: repos sabbatique.^[6][9][2]
2. Année sabbatique: in the Mosaic law, the seventh year of a cycle, in which the land was left to rest and debts were not claimed.^[7][10][9]
3. Année sabbatique, congé sabbatique: a year or period of leave granted to university teachers or employees for research or training, a sabbatical: Elle a pris une année sabbatique pour voyager.^[6][11]
4. Like or relating to the witches' sabbath.^[6][2]

Related words

• sabbat
• shabbat
• chabbat
• samedi
• Latin sabbaticus
• English sabbatical

Usage notes

The TLFi also gives the spelling shabbatique, especially for the sense “of the seventh day of the week” in Jewish religion.^[2]

References

1. ^ a b c d 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 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 h i Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
5. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ a b c d e f g Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
8. ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
9. ^ a b Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
10. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
11. ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)