septembre

Forms

septembre m (plural septembres)^[1] Old French september (about 1119) beside the inherited setembre (about 1155) and sietembre;^[2][3][4] septembre from 1226.^[2][3][4] Anglo-Norman also has settenbre and setumbre.^[5]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin september, first recorded in the computus of Philippe de Thaon (1119).^[6][7][2] The Latin name is a derivative of septem (“seven”) (see sept): it was the seventh month of the old Roman year, which began in March.^[6][2][8]

Old French also had the inherited form setembre (about 1155), in use until the 14th century; the modern spelling (1226) is a remaking of it after the Latin.^[2][9][10] Bloch and Wartburg note that the old pronunciation without /p/ is rare in the northern dialects, though it survives at Pontoise in the name of a local fête.^[10]

Cognate with Italian settembre, Spanish setiembre and Portuguese setembro.^[4][10]

Earliest recorded meaning

Philippe de Thaon's Comput (1119) has it as the ninth month of the year;^[6] Wace writes setembre about 1155.^[3]

Semantic evolution

The word has always named the ninth month of the year.^[6][2] Massacres de Septembre names the revolutionary killings of 2–5 September 1792, a phrase found in Chateaubriand's Mémoires d'outre-tombe and probably used much earlier;^[2][3] from it came septembriseur (1792) and septembriser (1793) “to execute summarily and in a mass”.^[2]

Purée septembrale (1534, Rabelais) is a joking name for wine, since grapes are picked in this month.^[10][4]

Timeline

• 1119 – Philippe de Thaon's Comput has september.^[6][2]
• c. 1155 – Wace writes the inherited form setembre.^[3]
• 1226 – The spelling septembre appears.^[2][11]
• 1534 – Rabelais coins purée septembrale “wine”.^[10][6]
• 1792 – Septembriseur is recorded after the September massacres.^[2]
• 1793 – Septembriser “to execute summarily” is recorded.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. September, the ninth month of the year, with thirty days.^[6][8][11]
2. (history) Les massacres de Septembre: the massacre of prisoners in Paris in September 1792.^[11][3]

Word family

• septembral
• septembriseur
• septembrisades

Related words

• sept
• Latin september

References

1. ^ a b c d e 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 f Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
4. ^ a b c d Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
5. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
6. ^ a b c d e f g 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
7. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 11, 480b
8. ^ a b Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
9. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
10. ^ a b c d e Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
11. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert