spéculer

Forms

spéculer^[1] Middle French also had especuler (about 1488, in philosophy).^[2][3]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin speculor (“to observe, watch, spy”), a learned borrowing recorded in 1345.^{[2][4][5][6][7]} The Latin verb is formed from specula (“lookout place, height”), from the archaic verb speciō (“to look”),^[2][5][8] the source also of spectacle and spéculaire.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

It first meant “to observe, consider, try to see into with the mind”: Jean d'Arkel's Li ars d'amour (mid-14th century) speaks of avisant et especulant cele science, and Oresme (1370–72) of speculer et cognoistre the multitude of laws.^[6]

Semantic evolution

The Latin sense “to observe natural phenomena”, especially the stars (1461), lasted until the 18th century;^[2][8] Furetière (1690) still gives it as an astronomical term.^[2][8] Like spéculer qqn “to look at someone” (1530), it then went out of use.^[2] From the mid-14th century the verb was a term of philosophy, “to meditate”, also spéculer sur (Christine de Pizan, 1404).^[2][6] From 1690 it meant to build theories, as opposed to putting them into practice.^[2][3]

At the end of the 18th century, following spéculation, it entered the language of commerce: Robespierre in 1792 writes spéculer sur la misère publique, and the Académie (1798) records spéculer sur les matières de banque.^[2][6][4] By extension spéculer sur quelque chose came to mean to count on it to succeed (1835).^[2][8]

Timeline

• 1345 – First recorded, in the sense “to observe”.^[2][4][5]
• 1370–72 – Oresme uses it in his translation of Aristotle's Ethics.^[6][3]
• 1404 – Christine de Pizan writes speculer sus plus occultes choses.^[6]
• 1461 – It is used of observing the stars.^[2]
• c. 1488 – The variant especuler appears.^[2]
• 1690 – It means to theorize, as opposed to practise.^[2]
• 1792 – Robespierre uses it of profiting from public hardship.^[6][2]
• 1798 – The Académie records it as a banking term.^[6][4]
• 1835 – Spéculer sur “to count on” is recorded by the Académie.^[2][8]

Meanings

Verb

1. (philosophy) To meditate, to think abstractly or theorize.^[9][3][8]
2. To speculate: to carry out financial or commercial operations to profit from market changes, as in spéculer en Bourse, spéculer à la hausse or spéculer à la baisse.^[9][6]
3. Spéculer sur: to count on something to succeed or to gain an advantage.^[9][2]
4. (obsolete) To observe closely, especially the stars.^[3][8]

Related words

• spéculation
• spéculateur
• spéculatif
• spectacle
• spéculaire
• Latin speculor

References

1. ^ a b 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 r Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ a b c d e Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
4. ^ a b c d Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
5. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ 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
7. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 12, 161a
8. ^ a b c d e f g Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
9. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert