Etymologically
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soigner

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 18 October 2026 at 14:30. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /swa.ɲe/[1]

Forms

soigner[1] Old French soignier, songnier;[2][3][4] soigner from the 14th century.[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French soignier, inherited from Medieval Latin soniō (“to take care; to provide for”), recorded from the 7th century, itself borrowed from Frankish *sunnjōn (“to look after”), a derivative of *sunnja (“care”), reconstructed from Old Saxon sunnea (“care”).[2][3][5][6] Bloch and Wartburg derive it straight from the Frankish verb and Old French soigne (“care”) from the Frankish noun; compare besoin.[7] An Old Italian word and Old Occitan sonh were borrowed from French.[7][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

In Guillaume d'Angleterre (about 1165), attributed to Chrétien de Troyes, it means “to provide, supply”; 13th-century charters use songnier for supplying timber or a cart.[8][9]

Semantic evolution

Until the 16th century it also meant “to be anxious, to see to”, construed with de (Froissart: soigner de Tournay, to take care of Tournai) and then with à (1538), a use in which it interfered with songer.[8][2][7][9] Robert Estienne (1538) has the transitive “to take care of”, and the 1718 Académie soigner les bêtes, soigner un enfant.[8][2]

The now usual sense “to treat (a sick person)” is recorded by Monet in 1636, with se soigner from 1829.[8][2] Soigner son style “to take care over” is in Trévoux (1771).[8] By antiphrase, soigner quelqu'un meant “to thrash” (1867), and il faut te faire soigner, “you must be mad”, is a 20th-century phrase.[2][4]

Timeline

  • c. 1080 – The noun soin, in the Chanson de Roland.[7]
  • c. 1165 – “To provide”, in Guillaume d'Angleterre.[8]
  • c. 1360 – Soigner de “to see to”.[2][3]
  • 1538 – “To take care of”, in Robert Estienne.[8]
  • 1636 – Soigner un malade, in Monet.[8]
  • 1771 – Soigner son style.[8]
  • 1867 – “To thrash”, by antiphrase.[2]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To look after, take care of (a person, an animal, a thing): soigner ses hôtes, soigner des fleurs.[5][1]
  2. To treat, nurse (a sick person or an illness).[1][8]
  3. To take great care over: soigner les détails, soigner son style.[8][9]
  4. Se soigner: to look after oneself; to take treatment, ça se soigne !, you're mad![10][2]
  5. (familiar, ironic) To treat harshly; to overcharge.[4][2]

Word family

  • soin
  • soigneux
  • soigneusement
  • soignant
  • soigné
  • soigneur

References

  1. ^ a b c d 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  5. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 17, 273a
  7. ^ a b c d Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  8. ^ 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
  9. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  10. ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)