sous-groupe

Forms

sous-groupe m (plural sous-groupes)^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from French sous- + groupe.^[2][1][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Rosny used it in 1891, in Jules Huret's Enquête sur l'évolution littéraire, for a group forming part of a larger one.^[2][4]

Semantic evolution

The mathematical sense, a subset of a group that is itself a group under the same law, is recorded in 1903.^[2] Dictionaries took it up late: the GLLF dates the mathematical sense from the Larousse of 1964 and the general sense from 1968.^[5][4]

Timeline

• 1891 – Rosny's use in Huret's Enquête.^[2][3]
• 1903 – First mathematical use, in the Revue générale des sciences.^[2]
• 1964 – The Larousse records the mathematical sense.^[5]

Meanings

Noun

1. A subdivision of a group of people or things that is itself a group: les sous-groupes d'une espèce.^[2][6]
2. (mathematics) A subgroup, a subset of a group that has the structure of a group under the same law.^[2][6][5]

Related words

• groupe
• sous-ensemble
• sous-groupement

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g 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
3. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
5. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
6. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert