sphère

Pronunciation

• IPA: /sfɛʁ/^[1]

Forms

sphère f (plural sphères)^[1] Espere (about 1150), spere (about 1370), remade as sphère after Latin in 1509; the Académie wrote sphere in 1694 and 1718.^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin sphaera (“ball; globe; celestial sphere”),^[4][3][5][6] from Ancient Greek σφαῖρα (sphaîra, “ball; globe, sphere”).^[4][3] Rey connects the Greek word with σπαίρω (spaírō, “to quiver”), the aspirate being expressive;^[3] Littré linked it with σπεῖρα (speîra, “coil”).^[7] The learned form replaced the earlier “espere”, from the same Latin word.^[1][3]

Cognate with Old Occitan espera, Spanish esfera and Italian sfera.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Roman de Thèbes (about 1150) has espere for each of the concentric spheres on which the heavenly bodies were thought to be set.^[4][2]

Semantic evolution

In Jean de Meun (1269–1278) espere was also a star or heavenly body, and the solid whose surface is everywhere equidistant from its centre.^[4] The word named representations of the heavens and the earth: a model of the celestial sphere (1382), an astronomical clock (1376) and a globe (1572).^[4][3] Oresme (14th century) uses espere for a ball given to a child.^[7] Copernican astronomy relegated the celestial spheres to history.^[3]

Figuratively sphère came to mean the bounds of moral things (Pascal, 1656) and the domain in which a person acts (La Bruyère, 1688), as in sphère d'activité (1690), sortir de sa sphère (1718), les hautes sphères “ruling circles” (1870) and sphère d'influence (1926).^[4][3][2] Compounds include hémisphère, planisphère (1555) and stratosphère (about 1898).^[5]

Timeline

• c. 1150 – Espere in the Roman de Thèbes.^[4]
• 1269–1278 – A star; a solid sphere, in Jean de Meun.^[4]
• c. 1370 – Spere in Oresme.^[2]
• 1509 – The spelling sphère in Lemaire de Belges.^[2][8]
• 1656 – Figurative bounds, in Pascal.^[4]
• 1688 – A sphere of activity, in La Bruyère.^[4]
• 1870 – Les hautes sphères.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. (geometry) A sphere; a spherical body.^[9][10]
2. (astronomy) Sphère céleste: the celestial sphere, sphère armillaire: an armillary sphere.^[9][2]
3. A domain, field of activity or influence: sphère d'influence, la sphère privée.^[9][2]
4. Les hautes sphères: the ruling circles.^[3][1]
5. (historical) Each of the concentric spheres of ancient astronomy.^[4][3]

Word family

• sphérique
• sphéricité
• planisphère
• hémisphère
• atmosphère

Related words

• Ancient Greek σφαῖρα (sphaîra)
• English sphere

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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
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 e f g h i j k l 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. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 12, 169a
7. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
9. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
10. ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)