soin

Pronunciation

• IPA: /swɛ̃/^[1]

Forms

soin m (plural soins)^[1] Old French soign (1080), soing (about 1155); soin from the 13th century.^[2]

Etymology

The origin is uncertain.^[3] It is probably borrowed from Frankish *sunni (“care, worry, grief”), through Late Latin sonium (“care”) (5th century), as the Grand Robert, the GLLF and the Petit Robert have it.^[4][5][2] Wartburg (FEW) argues that it cannot be taken straight from a Frankish feminine *sunnia, because of the difference in gender, and that the dates rule out a deverbal noun from soigner; he follows V. Günther in deriving the Late Latin word (5th century) from the Frankish neuter noun.^[3][3][6] Bloch and Wartburg, on the other hand, make it a deverbal noun of the verb, which they derive from Frankish *sunnjōn (“to take care of”).^[7] Wiktionary takes it to Frankish *sunnija (“worry, care”), from Proto-Germanic *sunjō (“truth, care”), and compares Gothic 𐍃𐌿𐌽𐌾𐌰 (sunja, “truth”).^[1]

The TLFi finds the semantic link with Germanic words meaning “truth, excuse” hard to accept, and reports U. Joppich-Hagemann's view (1978) that the noun and the verb come, like songer and songe, from Latin somnium (“dream”) and somniō (“to dream”), through the sense “to think”.^[3] Littré already called the origin doubtful.^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Chanson de Roland (about 1100) has n'aveir soign de “to have no care for”: Por ço n'unt soign de helme ne d'osberc “so they care nothing for helmet or hauberk”.^[3][8]

Semantic evolution

In Old and Middle French it was a worry, a concern (venir à soing “to be anxious”, 1460–66).^[3][2] Prendre soin de “to see to it that” is recorded about 1480, and the attention given to doing something well at the same date.^[3] Robert Estienne (1538) has the charge of looking after something and avoir soin de quelqu'un “to provide for someone”.^[3][5]

The plural took on the gallant sense of attentions paid to a loved one (1655, Molière), with petits soins (1662), a place on the Carte du Tendre in 1654, and être aux petits soins pour (1842, Balzac).^[3] Madame de Sévigné (1671) uses soins for the care that keeps or restores health, the sense of modern soins médicaux, aux bons soins de “care of” on letters dates from 1909.^[3]

Timeline

• c. 1100 – N'aveir soign de, Chanson de Roland.^[3]
• c. 1480 – Prendre soing de.^[3]
• 1538 – Avoir soin de quelqu'un, Robert Estienne.^[3]
• 1662 – Petits soins, Molière.^[3]
• 1671 – Soins “medical care”, Madame de Sévigné.^[3]
• 1909 – Aux bons soins de.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. care, attention to doing something well: travailler avec soin.^[5][1]
2. Avoir, prendre soin de: to take care of, look after (someone, something); to take care to.^[3][2]
3. The task of looking after something: confier à quelqu'un le soin de….^[3][2]
4. (plural) Medical or personal care: soins médicaux, premiers soins, soins de beauté.^[3][2]
5. (plural) Attentions: être aux petits soins pour quelqu'un.^[3]
6. (old) Worry, concern.^[2]

Word family

• soigneux
• soigneusement

Related words

• soigner
• besoin
• besogne

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t 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
4. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 17, 272a
7. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
8. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette