Etymologically
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sonner

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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

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