spéculateur

Forms

spéculateur m (plural spéculateurs, feminine spéculatrice)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin speculātor (“observer, spy, messenger, guard”),^[2][3][4] the agent noun of speculor (“to observe, watch”).^[4][5] Littré traces the verb to speculum (“mirror”) and speciō (“to see”).^[5] The financial sense came from that of a theorist, by applying the idea of reflection to dealings on the stock market,^[2] under the influence of spéculation;^[3][6] the Robert dictionaries therefore describe the modern word as formed on the stem of that noun after the Latin one.^[7][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded in 1355, in Pierre Bersuire's translation of Livy, in the sense of a sentry or lookout.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

From the Latin word the French one took the senses “observer of the heavens” (1532) and “observer” in general (1549), a sense still alive in the classical period, and briefly that of an inspector (1556).^[3][2] In Middle French it also meant “executioner” (1375, 1541), through confusion of the Latin word with Late Latin spiculator.^[3] La Fontaine used it of an astrologer who fell into a well while watching the stars (1668).^[4][7] Littré still lists a military use for a sentinel or scout in 18th-century writers.^[5]

From 1607 it meant a person given to theoretical reflection, and later (1654) a theorist as opposed to a practitioner.^[3][2] In 1745 it took the financial sense of a person who speculates on the market, which has since replaced all the others.^[3][2][6] Balzac used the feminine spéculatrice as an adjective meaning “calculating, self-interested” in 1839.^[2][8]

Timeline

• 1355 – Bersuire's translation of Livy uses it for a sentry.^[2][3]
• 1532 – It means an observer, of the sea from a masthead or of the stars.^[2][3]
• 1549 – Estienne records the feminine speculatrice.^[2]
• 1654 – Cyrano de Bergerac uses it for theorists.^[2][3]
• 1668 – La Fontaine's astrologer is a spéculateur.^[4][7]
• 1745 – First recorded in the financial sense.^[2][3][6]
• 1839 – Balzac uses it as an adjective.^[2][8]

Meanings

Noun

1. A person who makes financial or commercial operations to profit from changes in the market, a speculator.^[6][2][9]
2. (dated) A person given to theoretical speculation, a theorist.^[2][5]

Adjective

1. (rare) speculative, self-interested.^[2][1]

Related words

• spéculer
• spéculation
• spéculatif
• Latin speculātor

Usage notes

The feminine spéculatrice is rare.^[2]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q 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 h i j k Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
5. ^ a b c d Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
6. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ a b Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
9. ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)