sonner

Pronunciation

• IPA: /sɔ.ne/^[1]

Forms

sonner^[1] Old French soner (about 980), suner (1080); sonner from the 13th century.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French soner, inherited from Latin sonō (“to sound, resound; to utter; to mean”), from sonus (“sound”) (see son).^{[4][2][5][6][7]}

Cognate with Romanian suna, Italian sonare, Occitan sonar, Spanish sonar and Portuguese soar.^[8][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the Passion of Clermont (late 10th century) Jesus mot ne soned to Herod, “did not utter a word”, ne sonner mot “to say nothing” was still recorded by the Académie in 1878.^[4][2]

Semantic evolution

In the Chanson de Roland (about 1100) it means to sound a wind instrument (sunez vostre corn, l'olifan), and also of the instrument and the echoing hills: Sunent li munt e respondent li val.^[4][10] About 1150 it was used for ringing bells, and later of a bell or a clock sounding, sonner la messe is from about 1175 and sonner la retraite from the 13th century.^[2][4] Wace (1155) used it for “to mean”, a sense now gone.^[4][2]

The hour that sonne (about 1640) gave sa dernière heure a sonné and midi sonné.^[2] From 1532 it meant to summon someone with a bell, whence the familiar on ne t'a pas sonné “nobody asked you” (1925).^[2] A word sonne bien or sonne faux depending on the impression it makes (Montaigne, about 1590).^[4][3] In slang sonner qqn is to knock someone out.^[8]

Timeline

• late 10th century – Soner mot, Passion.^[4]
• c. 1100 – To sound a horn, Chanson de Roland.^[4]
• c. 1150 – To ring bells.^[2]
• 1155 – “To mean”, Wace.^[4]
• c. 1210 – The derivative sonnerie.^[5]
• 1532 – To summon with a bell.^[2]
• c. 1640 – The hour sounds.^[2]

Meanings

Verb

1. (intransitive) To ring, sound: le téléphone sonne, les cloches sonnent, midi sonne.^[8][1]
2. (intransitive) To ring the bell: on a sonné.^[2][8]
3. (intransitive) To sound (a certain way): sonner creux, sonner faux, sonner bien.^[8][3]
4. (transitive) To ring (a bell); to sound (a signal, a horn): sonner le glas, sonner la retraite.^[1][2]
5. (transitive) To strike (the hour): l'horloge sonne midi.^[2]
6. (transitive, familiar) To summon (someone): on ne t'a pas sonné.^[2]
7. (transitive, familiar) To knock (someone) out, stun: il est sonné.^[8]

Word family

• sonnaille
• sonnant
• sonnerie
• sonnette
• sonneur
• malsonnant

Related words

• son
• résonner
• sonore
• sonate
• Latin sonō

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 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 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 Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
6. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 12, 97a
8. ^ a b c d e f Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
10. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette