sanitaire

Forms

sanitaire (plural sanitaires)^[1]

Etymology

It is a learned derivative from Latin sānitās (“health”), with the suffix -aire.^[2][3][4][1] Bloch and Wartburg note that it was formed to serve as the adjective for a special sense of santé.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded in 1801 in Mercier's Néologie, in lois sanitaires, meaning “relating to public health and hygiene”.^[2][5]

Semantic evolution

Phrases such as police sanitaire and mesures sanitaires followed in 1812,^[2] and cordon sanitaire in the 1820s.^[2][6] The adjective was applied to the army medical service (train sanitaire, 1916), whence the archaic nouns les sanitaires “members of this service” and une sanitaire “an army ambulance”.^[6][2]

Since the middle of the 20th century it has been used above all of the fixtures and installations that bring water into and take it out of a dwelling (plomberie sanitaire, 1928), and the noun les sanitaires became a euphemism for the toilets.^[6][2] The trade name sanisette (about 1980), for a public toilet, seems to be derived from this use.^[6]

Etymonline traces English sanitary (1823) to the French word.^[7]

Timeline

• 1801 – Mercier records lois sanitaires.^[2]
• 1812 – Police sanitaire and mesures sanitaires appear.^[2]
• 1823 – English borrows it as sanitary.^[7]
• 1829 – Cordon sanitaire is recorded.^[6][5]
• 1916 – Barbusse writes train sanitaire.^[2][6]
• 1922 – Montherlant uses les sanitaires for members of the army medical service.^[2]
• 1928 – Plomberie sanitaire appears.^[2][6]
• 1956 – The plural noun is used for bathroom fixtures.^[2]
• 1964 – The Robert records the singular noun.^[2]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Relating to public health and hygiene: un contrôle sanitaire.^[8][9][10]
2. Of fixtures and installations that supply and drain water in a dwelling (basins, baths, sinks, toilets): des appareils sanitaires.^[9][10][8]
3. (military, dated) Belonging to the army medical service.^[2][6]

Noun

1. (usually plural) The washing and toilet facilities of a place, especially the toilets.^[9][10][6]
2. The bathroom fittings trade.^[10]

Word family

• sanisette

Related words

• santé
• sain
• Latin sānitās
• English sanitary

Usage notes

Cordon sanitaire first meant a line of troops cutting off a country infected by a contagious disease.^[11]

References

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