Etymologically
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saluer

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /sa.lɥe/[1]

Forms

saluer[1] Old French saluder (late 10th century); saluer from the 11th century.[2][3][1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French saluer, inherited from Latin salūtō (“to greet; to pay one's respects; to visit”),[2][4][5][3][6][1] properly “to wish someone health (salus)”, for example when he sneezes; it is derived from salūs (“health, safety”) (see salut).[4][5][7]

Cognate with Italian salutare, Old Occitan saludar, Spanish saludar and Portuguese saudar.[4][8][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Passion of Clermont (late 10th century) has saluder cum “to hail as”; in the Chanson de Roland (about 1100) it means to honour someone with an outward mark of respect: S'il saluerent par amur e par bien, “they greeted him with love and goodwill”.[2][8]

Semantic evolution

Benoît de Sainte-Maure (about 1175) uses it for sending one's greetings through someone else, and Robert Estienne (1538) for complimenting by letter; the reciprocal se saluer is in Herberay des Essarts's Amadis (1540).[2] From 1547 (Noël du Fail) one salutes inanimate things, and Balzac (1839) has saluer quelque chose par “to greet an event with approval”.[2]

The military salute is recorded in 1609, saluer la mer by the Académie (1694), and the naval salute with sails or flag in 1832.[2][3] The Académie (1835) records its use as a polite formula at the end of a letter, and actors take their bow, saluer le public, from 1866.[2][3]

Timeline

  • Late 10th century – Saluder, Passion of Clermont.[2]
  • c. 1100 – “To greet”, Chanson de Roland.[2]
  • c. 1175 – “To send greetings”, Benoît de Sainte-Maure.[2]
  • 1540 – Se saluer.[2]
  • 1609 – The military salute.[2]
  • 1835 – At the end of a letter.[2]
  • 1866 – Actors saluer le public.[2]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To greet: saluer quelqu'un d'un geste, de la voix, ils se sont salués.[7][1]
  2. To say goodbye to, je vous salue, a formula of leave-taking.[1][3]
  3. (military, nautical) To salute.[1][2]
  4. To hail, acclaim; to pay tribute to.[1][2]
  5. Of a performer, to bow to the audience.[7][2]

Word family

  • saluade
  • salueur
  • salut
  • salutation
  • Latin salūtō

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h 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 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 Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  4. ^ a b c 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. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 11, 126b
  7. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  8. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  9. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter