Etymologically
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secouer

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /sə.kwe/[1]

Forms

secouer[1] Old French secorre (about 1174, Étienne de Fougères), secourre (15th century to the early 17th); secouer from the 16th century.[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French secorre (“to shake”), remade after its present forms with ⟨ou⟩ (nous secouons, vous secouez, ils secouent).[3][5][6][4] The Old French verb is inherited from Latin succutiō (“to shake from below, toss”), from sub (“under”) and quatiō (“to shake; to strike”), a verb of unknown origin whose compounds also gave discuter and percuter.[2][4][7][1] Bloch and Wartburg note that the expected Old French form sequeurre is very rare and was remade as secourre, partly after secourir; the latter survives in the dialects of the east and north-east.[5][6] Littré thought the modern verb an alteration of a form *secouir.[8]

Compare Occitan secodre, Spanish sacudir and Portuguese sacudir.[8][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Sottie du Gaudisseur (about 1450) has secouer le pelisson “to give someone a rough time”, Robert Estienne (1531) has secouant la tête as a sign of refusal.[3][2]

Semantic evolution

In the 15th century secourre also meant to shake something off (secourre la neige, Perceforest); secouer la poudre de ses pieds (1553) was to leave a place in anger.[2][8] Secouer le joug “to throw off a yoke” is in Robert Estienne (1538, 1549), and later one secoue prejudices (1683) and laziness.[3][2][4] Montaigne (1580) uses it for shaking one's beliefs, and today it is mostly used in the passive for being shaken by a physical or emotional shock.[3][2]

Secouer quelqu'un meant to treat someone roughly (1580), then to scold (1666), with secouer les puces (1690); it now means to shake someone out of apathy.[3][2] Diderot (1762) has se secouer “to pull oneself together”, and Voltaire (1766) être secoué “to be in poor health”.[3] The familiar secouer le cocotier dates from 1964, and the slang rien à secouer means “couldn't care less”.[4][1]

Timeline

  • c. 1174 – Secorre, Étienne de Fougères.[3]
  • c. 1450 – Secouer le pelisson.[3]
  • 1531 – Secouer la tête, Robert Estienne.[3]
  • 1549 – Secouer le joug, Robert Estienne.[3]
  • 1690 – Secouer les puces.[2]
  • 1762 – Se secouer, Diderot.[3]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To shake: secouer un tapis, secouer le flacon avant usage, secouer la tête, to shake one's head.[9][1]
  2. To shake off: secouer la neige de son manteau, secouer le joug, to throw off the yoke.[2][1]
  3. To shake, jolt, toss about: la voiture nous secouait, (figurative) to upset, shock: cette nouvelle l'a secoué.[9][1]
  4. To shake (someone) up, rouse; to scold: secouer les puces à quelqu'un.[2][1]
  5. Se secouer: to shake oneself, (familiar) to pull oneself together, make an effort.[1][3]

Word family

  • secousse
  • secouement
  • secoueur

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 Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m 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
  4. ^ a b c d e Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  5. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  6. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  7. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 12, 385a
  8. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  9. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert