savoir

Pronunciation

• IPA: /sa.vwaʁ/^[1]

Forms

savoir^[1] Old French savir (842, as a noun), saveir (about 980), savoir (about 1165).^[2][3] From the 15th to the 17th century it was also written sçavoir, as if from Latin scīre.^[2][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French saveir, inherited from Vulgar Latin *sapēre, an alteration of Classical Latin sapere (“to taste; to be wise; to understand”).^[2][5][3][6] The Latin verb meant “to have a taste, a smell” and “to perceive by taste”, hence figuratively “to have sense, to be wise”, and as a transitive verb “to understand”, already in the Republican period, and “to know” in Late Latin.^[2][6] Supported by sapiēns, it eliminated scīre (“to know”), which survives only in Romanian ști and Logudorese “iskire”.^[6] The present “sais” comes from Vulgar Latin “*sayo”, and the subjunctive “sache” from sapiat, with the regular change of [pj].^[1]

The Latin verb has a Germanic correspondent in Old Saxon afsebbian (“to perceive”).^[2] Cognate with Italian sapere, Occitan saber, Catalan saber, Spanish saber and Portuguese saber.^[7][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The infinitive is first found in the Strasbourg Oaths (842), used as a noun: in quant Deus savir et podir me dunat “as far as God gives me knowledge and power”.^[8][9] As a verb it appears at the end of the 10th century, with an infinitive, “to be able to”: de Crist non sabent mot parlar “they could not say a word about Christ”.^[8]

Semantic evolution

In the second half of the 10th century savoir + clause meant “to know something from having been told”, and about 1100 “to be able to do something” by talent or practice (Ben set parler “he can speak well”).^[8][2] About 1050 it was a weakened equivalent of pouvoir (Ne vus sai dire “I cannot tell you”), a use that survives in the negative conditional (je ne saurais) and in Belgian French in the positive.^[8][1] The imperative sachez calls for attention from about 1100, and que je sache “as far as I know” is found in 1176–81.^[8]

The noun savoir meant “wisdom, intelligence” in the oldest texts and “knowledge acquired by study” from about 1155.^[9][3] Derivatives include savant (12th century, a noun from 1634), savoir-vivre (1466) and savoir-faire (1671).^[6]

Timeline

• 842 – Savir as a noun in the Strasbourg Oaths.^[8][3]
• c. 980 – The form saveir.^[2][3]
• late 10th century – Savoir + infinitive, “to be able to”.^[8]
• c. 1100 – “To know how to” in the Chanson de Roland.^[8]
• c. 1165 – The form savoir.^[2]
• 15th century – The spelling sçavoir appears.^[2]
• 1466 – Savoir-vivre.^[6]
• 1671 – Savoir-faire.^[6]

Meanings

Verb

1. To know (a fact, something one has learned or been told): je sais qu'il est là.^[1][2]
2. To know how to: savoir nager.^[1][2]
3. To know (a language, a lesson) by heart or by study: savoir sa leçon.^[2]
4. (negative conditional) To be able to: je ne saurais vous dire.^[1][8]
5. To find out, to learn: je l'ai su hier.^[1]
6. À savoir: namely.^[1]

Noun

1. knowledge, learning: l'étendue de son savoir.^[7][9]
2. (philosophy) The state of the mind that knows.^[7]

Word family

• savant
• savoir-faire
• savoir-vivre
• su

Related words

• saveur
• sage
• Latin sapiō

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ a b c d e Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 11, 193a
6. ^ a b c d e f Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
7. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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
9. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse