spécimen

Forms

spécimen m (plural spécimens)^[1]

Etymology

The TLFi, the DHLF, Bloch and Wartburg and the GLLF take it as borrowed from English specimen (“model, sample”), recorded in English from 1610,^[2][3][4][5] which is from Latin specimen (“proof, sign, example, model”), derived from speciō (“to look”).^[3][5][6] The Grand Robert, the Petit Robert, Littré and Wiktionary give the Latin word as the direct source.^[7][8][6][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in 1662 in Saint-Évremond's comedy Sir Politik, meaning a sample;^[2][5] Bloch and Wartburg date the same text to about 1700 and say it came in as a commercial term.^[4] The next record is in Boiste's dictionary in 1823.^[3][5]

Semantic evolution

The word first kept the English sense of an individual or object giving an idea of the species or class it belongs to.^[3] In 1876 it was applied to a free copy of a book or review, or a part of one, given out as a sample.^[3][5]

From about the middle of the 20th century it has been used familiarly and with irony of a person who stands out by their behaviour, in the same way as type.^[3][5]

Timeline

• 1662 – Saint-Évremond uses it for a sample.^[2]
• 1823 – Boiste records it.^[5]
• 1876 – Larousse records the sense “free sample copy”.^[5]
• c. 1950 – It is used ironically of a person.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. An individual or object that gives an idea of the species or category it belongs to; a sample: un beau spécimen de baroque.^[8][2]
2. A free copy or leaflet of a book or review, given out to advertise it; also in apposition, numéro spécimen.^[8][5]
3. (familiar, ironic) A person, a character: un drôle de spécimen.^[8]

Related words

• espèce
• spectacle
• English specimen

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d 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 c d e f g Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
6. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
7. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert