se

Pronunciation

• IPA: /sə/^[1]

Forms

se m or f (pre-vocalic s')^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French se, inherited from Latin sē (“himself, herself, themselves”), the accusative of the third-person reflexive pronoun, in unstressed position.^[2][3][4] The stressed form of the same Latin word is soi: “se” developed in unstressed position, “soi” in stressed position after prepositions, as with me and moi, te and toi.^[5][1] Littré compares Ancient Greek ἕ (hé) and Sanskrit स्व (sva).^[6]

Cognate with Occitan se, Catalan se, Spanish se and Portuguese se.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Strasbourg Oaths (842) have it, enclitic, as an indirect object expressing the interest of the person spoken of.^[7] In the Sequence of Saint Eulalia (881) it is the object of pronominal verbs, also with a passive sense.^[7][4]

Semantic evolution

Reciprocal se (s'entredonner “to give each other”) is found about 1100 in the Chanson de Roland.^[7] Se standing for a noun introduced by à (ils se sont procuré) is recorded in Calvin (1541), and se with impersonal pronominal verbs (il s'est produit) in the 16th century.^[4]

Timeline

• 842 – Se in the Strasbourg Oaths.^[7]
• 881 – With pronominal verbs, including passive ones, in the Sequence of Saint Eulalia.^[7]
• c. 1100 – Reciprocal se in the Chanson de Roland.^[7]
• 1541 – Se for an indirect object, in Calvin.^[4]

Meanings

Pronoun

1. himself, herself, itself, oneself, themselves: third person reflexive object pronoun: il se lave.^[1][3]
2. Each other, one another: ils se regardent.^[1][3]
3. To himself, herself, themselves (indirect object): il s'attribue le mérite.^[3][4]
4. Forms pronominal verbs with a passive sense: cela se boit frais.^[4]
5. Forms impersonal pronominal phrases: il s'est produit un changement.^[4]
6. Part of verbs that are only pronominal: s'évanouir, se souvenir.^[4]

Related words

• soi
• Latin sē

Usage notes

Se is elided to s’ before a vowel or mute h.^[3] In Louisiana French it also serves for the second person plural.^[1]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d e f g h Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
5. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
6. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
7. ^ a b c d e f 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