sergent

Forms

sergent m (plural sergents, feminine sergente)^[1] Old French sergant and serjant; the form sergent dates from the early 13th century.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French serjant, inherited from Latin serviēns, from the accusative servientem, the present participle of serviō (“to serve”).^[4][2][5][6] In legal Latin of the 8th century it was used for a man in the service of a lord.^[2] It is related to servir.^[2]

Cognate with Old Occitan sirven (with senses like those of Old French) and Spanish sirviente; Italian sergente was borrowed from French.^[5][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found as sergant in the Vie de saint Alexis (about 1050), for a servant or trusted man in the employ of a lord: Dune prent li pedre de ses meilurs serganz (“then the father takes some of his best servants”).^[4][7]

Semantic evolution

In Old French it chiefly meant a servant ranking above a valet.^[2][8] It was used for an officer of the lord who ran his estates and for a court officer in charge of seizures and prosecutions (about 1155), often with a qualifier: sergent d'armes (1285), sergent fieffé (1295).^[2][3] From the 12th century it also meant a foot soldier of low rank.^[2][4] From the 13th to the 16th century it could be a servant of God.^[2]

In the 17th century the sergent was the man who put the soldiers in rank, whence the modern sense of a non-commissioned officer.^[5][2] Sergent de ville (1829) was a policeman until gardien de la paix replaced it (1870 in Paris); familiar sergot (1873) came from it.^[2][4] The compounds sergent-major (1574, a battle officer; from 1690 a senior NCO) and sergent-chef (1876) followed.^[2] English sergeant was taken from Old French about 1200.^[9]

Timeline

• c. 1050 – Sergant “servant” appears in the Vie de saint Alexis.^[4]
• c. 1130 – Used for a domain officer of justice and for a soldier of low rank.^[4]
• c. 1200 – English borrows the word as sergeaunt.^[9]
• Early 13th century – The form sergent appears.^[2][8]
• 1285 – Sergent d'armes is recorded.^[2][3]
• 1549 – Robert Estienne records it for a cooper's tool.^[4]
• 1575 – Brantôme uses sergent-majour.^[4]
• 1798 – The rank of NCO in the army.^[10]
• 1829 – Sergent de ville appears in a police ordinance.^[4]
• 1876 – Sergent-chef appears.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. (military) A sergeant, the lowest rank of non-commissioned officer in the army and air force.^[11][10][1]
2. (historical) A bailiff, a court officer who served writs and made seizures.^[10][7]
3. Sergent de ville (dated): a policeman.^[10][11]
4. (archaic) A servant.^[7][4]
5. A clamp used by coopers and joiners.^[4]

Word family

• sergent-chef
• sergent-major
• sergot

Related words

• servir
• servant
• sirvente
• Latin serviō
• English sergeant

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
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 f g h i j k 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
5. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 11, 532a
7. ^ a b c d Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
10. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
11. ^ a b Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)