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signaler

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Etymology and origin of the French word signaler

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1572 Ronsard, Franciade More words from the 16th century
Ultimate origin
Italian segnalare

Pronunciation

Forms

signaler[1] First spelled seignaller (1572); the spelling signaler is found from 1604.[2][3]

Etymology

It is from French signalé (“remarkable, distinguished”), the adjective made into a verb with the ending -er.[2][4][1] The adjective, first segnalé (1562), was used only of people and was later remade after signal.[5][6] It is segnalato, the past participle of segnalare (“to make illustrious”),[5][6] which the Grand Robert derives from segno (“sign”) and Bloch and Wartburg from segnale.[6][5]

The senses “to announce by a signal” and “to point out” are due to the influence of that noun.[5][3] Littré compares Occitan signalar, Catalan senyalar, Spanish señalar and Portuguese sinalar, and the Italian verb.[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Ronsard's Franciade (1572) has seignaller in the sense “to make (someone or something) noticed, to show”.[2][3] The adjective segnalé had appeared earlier, as in gentilshommes segnalez (1578).[6][5]

Semantic evolution

Until the 17th century the verb meant only “to make remarkable”, and the reflexive se signaler (1587) meant “to distinguish oneself”.[5][2][3] From 1680 signaler un soldat was to write down a recruit's description when he was enlisted, which led to signaler a person “to give someone's description”, recorded by the Académie in 1798.[2][3][7]

Under the influence of signal, the verb took the naval sense “to announce by a signal” (1773), and signaler qqch. à qqn “to make something known” (1798).[2][3][5] The sense “to report, denounce” is recorded by the Académie in 1835.[8] In the 20th century rien à signaler “nothing to report” came to be abbreviated as RAS.[3][4]

Timeline

  • 1572 – Seignaller “to make noticed” appears in Ronsard's Franciade.[2]
  • 1587 – Se signaler “to distinguish oneself” appears in La Noue.[2][3]
  • 1604 – The spelling signaler appears in Montchrestien.[2]
  • 1680 – Richelet records signaler un soldat “to write down a recruit's description”.[2]
  • 1718 – The derivative signalement is recorded.[5][3]
  • 1773 – Bourdé de Villehuet's sailors' manual has the sense “to announce by a signal”.[2][8]
  • 1798 – The Académie records signaler a person “to give someone's description”.[2][3]
  • 1835 – The Académie records the sense “to report, denounce”.[8]
  • 20th century – Rien à signaler and its abbreviation RAS come into use.[3]

Meanings

Verb

  1. (dated) To make remarkable or famous by some action; reflexive se signaler: to distinguish oneself, for good or ill.[4][2]
  2. To announce or indicate by a signal: Un feu rouge signale la sortie du port.[4][2]
  3. To point out, to draw someone's attention to something, to let someone know: Je te signale que la réunion est annulée. Rien à signaler: nothing to report.[4][9]
  4. To report someone to the authorities, to denounce.[4][8]
  5. (dated) To give the description of a person, so that he or she can be recognized.[7][2]

Word family

  • signalement
  • signaleur
  • signalisation

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 o 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 d e f g h i j k Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c d e f Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  6. ^ a b c d Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  7. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  8. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  9. ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
Cite this entry

“Signaler.” Etymologically, 14 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/signaler. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

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