Etymologically
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seconde

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /sə.ɡɔ̃d/[1]

Forms

seconde f (plural secondes)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Medieval Latin secunda (“second”), short for “minūta secunda”, literally “the minute of the second rank”, the feminine of secundus (“second”) with minūta (“small part, minute”).[2][3][4][1] Littré explains that the ancients divided the hour and the degree into sixty “minutae” “small parts”, then each of these into sixty “minutae secundae” “second minutes”, which French shortened to minute and “seconde”.[5] “Secundus” is from sequor (“to follow”).[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Mersenne, in his Harmonie universelle (1636), is the first to use it for the sixtieth part of a minute of time.[2]

Semantic evolution

Pomey (1671) records it, and Miège (1677) uses it in geometry and astronomy for the sixtieth part of a minute of arc.[3][2] Lamartine (1830) has it for a very short time, a moment, une seconde! “just a moment!” is modern.[2][3] Since 1967 the second has been defined by the radiation of the caesium-133 atom.[2][6]

Timeline

  • 1636 – A sixtieth of a minute, Mersenne.[2]
  • 1677 – A sixtieth of a minute of arc, Miège.[2]
  • 1830 – “A moment”, Lamartine.[2]
  • 1967 – The atomic second.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A second, a sixtieth of a minute: trois mètres par seconde.[6][4]
  2. A very short time, a moment: une seconde, j'arrive.[4][7]
  3. (geometry) A sixtieth of a minute of arc.[4][7]

Usage notes

Seconde is also the feminine of second used as a noun: second class on a train, second gear, the classe de seconde at a French lycée, and in music the interval of a second.[4][5][1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ 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
  3. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  4. ^ a b c d e Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
  5. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  6. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  7. ^ a b Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)