simultané

Forms

simultané (feminine simultanée, masculine plural simultanés, feminine plural simultanées)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Medieval Latin simultaneus, a Medieval Latin word recorded only in the sense “feigned”, which was formed on Latin simultās (“rivalry, competition, enmity”) as if it came from simulō (“to imitate, feign”).^[2][3][4][5] The TLFi treats the French word as derived from the Classical Latin noun itself, with the ending of the medieval adjective.^[6] The noun comes from the adverb simul (“at the same time, together”), related to similis (“like”).^[2] The present meaning came from the influence of this adverb.^[3][7][2]

Littré, finding that the medieval adjective meant only “feigned”, derived the French word instead from Late Latin simultim (“at the same time”), itself from the adverb;^[8] Wiktionary likewise traces the medieval adjective to the Late Latin adverb.^[1] French had also borrowed the Latin noun as simulte (“hatred, enmity”) (Rabelais, 1552), also spelled ⟨simulté⟩ (1555).^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The word first appears in 1701, as the feminine noun simultanée in the Jesuits' Mémoires de Trévoux, meaning a competition between several candidates, the sense of Latin simultās.^[6][3][2]

Semantic evolution

As an adjective the word took the sense of Latin simul: in 1738 an author spoke of two editions being almost simultanée, that is, happening at the same time in different places, and in 1740 a text of the Académie des sciences used it of a synchronized movement of the two hands.^[6][4] From 1757 (Diderot) it is applied to separate events referred to the same moment, which became its usual meaning.^[2][4]

Several 19th-century phrases are now out of use: enseignement simultané (1842), teaching given to a whole class at once, and contraste simultané of colours (1863).^[2][8] Traduction simultanée, translation given while the speaker talks, dates from after 1950 and gave the noun la simultanée.^[2][4] In chess a partie simultanée, or simply simultanée, is a game in which one player faces several opponents at once.^[2][9]

Timeline

• 1701 – The Mémoires de Trévoux use simultanée as a noun, “competition”.^[6][3]
• 1738 – First use as an adjective, “happening at the same time in different places”.^[6]
• 1740 – Used of a synchronized movement in the history of the Académie des sciences.^[6][4][7]
• 1754 – The derivative simultanéité is recorded.^[3]
• 1757 – Diderot applies it to distinct events referred to the same moment.^[2][4]
• 1842 – Enseignement simultané is recorded.^[2]
• 1863 – Contraste simultané of colours is recorded.^[2]
• 1933 – Position en simultané is used of a telegraph office.^[2][10]
• 1967 – The Robert records traduction simultanée.^[4]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Happening at the same moment as something else; simultaneous, concomitant, as in Les deux explosions furent presque simultanées.^[9][6][8]
2. Of movements: synchronized within one whole, as in Les mouvements simultanés des rameurs faisaient avancer la barque.^[4][9]
3. Traduction simultanée: interpretation given while the speaker is talking.^[9][2]

Noun

1. (feminine, chess) A simultaneous display, in which one player plays several opponents at the same time.^[9][6]
2. (feminine) Simultaneous interpretation.^[2]

Word family

• simultanéité

Related words

• simuler
• similaire
• Latin simul
• Latin simultas

Usage notes

The phrase en simultané is used as an adjective and adverb, notably of a telegraph office.^[2]

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 Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ a b c d e Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
4. ^ a b c d e f g h Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 11, 638a
6. ^ 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
7. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
9. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
10. ^ Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF