sacrifier

Forms

sacrifier^[1] Old French sacrefier, sacrefiier.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin sacrificō (“to offer a sacrifice”),^[4][5][6][1] from sacrum (“sacred thing, rite”) and faciō (“to make, do”), the Latin phrase meaning to perform a sacred ceremony.^[4][5][6] The GLLF derives the Latin verb from sacrificus (“sacrificing”).^[7] The verb had become specialised in Christian Latin.^[5]

Cognate with Old Occitan sacrificar, Spanish sacrificar and Italian sagrificare.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Philippe de Thaon's Comput (1119) uses it without an object for offering a sacrifice to God.^[4][5]

Semantic evolution

It was soon used of offerings to any deity or idol (about 1120), and the phrase sacrifier un sacrifice was current from the 13th to the 16th century.^[5] From uses such as sacrefier le cors de Notre Seignor (about 1220) came the sense “to celebrate the sacrifice of the Mass” (1669).^[5] Wace already used it about 1145 for making someone the victim of a scheme or interest.^[4]

The figurative sense, sacrifier quelqu'un à son ambition, is found in 1580, and the verb came to mean “to give up (someone or something) for what one puts first”;^[5][8] sacrifier quelque chose dates from 1636.^[5][8] With an indirect object it meant “to conform to”, first in n'avoir pas sacrifié aux Grâces (1611), later in sacrifier à la mode (1820).^[5] The reflexive se sacrifier “to devote oneself at one's own cost” dates from the mid-17th century (La Fontaine, 1668).^[4][5] It has meant “to kill” without any ritual intent since 1670, and “to put in a lower rank” since 1756;^[5] a sense in the arts, of subordinating part of a work, is recorded in 1875.^[4]

Timeline

• 1119 – First record, in Philippe de Thaon's Comput.^[4][5]
• c. 1145 – Wace uses it for making someone a victim.^[4]
• 1580 – Sacrifier quelqu'un à son ambition.^[5]
• 1611 – N'avoir pas sacrifié aux Grâces.^[5]
• 1636 – Sacrifier quelque chose “to give up”.^[5][8]
• 1668 – La Fontaine uses se sacrifier.^[4]
• 1669 – “To celebrate Mass”.^[5]
• 1670 – “To kill” without ritual intent.^[5]
• 1674 – Racine: C'est à ces dieux que vous sacrifiez.^[4]
• 1756 – “To put in a lower rank”.^[5]
• 1820 – Sacrifier à la mode.^[5]
• 1875 – A sense in the arts is recorded by Larousse.^[4]

Meanings

Verb

1. To offer as a sacrifice, immolate: sacrifier un bélier aux dieux.^[8][9][10]
2. Sacrifier à: to offer sacrifices to (a god); (literary) to conform to, follow: sacrifier à la mode.^[8][9][10]
3. To kill (an animal) for food or other purposes.^[7][5]
4. To give up or neglect (someone or something) for the sake of something else: Elle a sacrifié ses loisirs à ses études.^[8][7]
5. To reduce to a minor role, give less importance to (a character, a part of a work).^[8][7]
6. (familiar) To part with reluctantly; to sell off cheaply: sacrifier un article.^[8][7]
7. Se sacrifier: to devote oneself at one's own cost; to give one's life for a person or a cause.^[8][7][5]

Related words

• sacrifice
• sacrer
• faire
• Latin sacrificō

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
3. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k 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
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ a b c d e f Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
8. ^ a b c d e f g h i Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ a b Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
10. ^ a b Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)