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sporadique

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Etymology and origin of the French word sporadique

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1620 J. de Lampérière, Traité de la peste More words from the 17th century
Borrowed from
Ancient Greek σποραδικός
Ultimate origin
Ancient Greek σπείρω
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Ancient Greek σποραδικός (sporadikós)
French sporadique
From the same root
English sporadic ← σποραδικός

Forms

sporadique (plural sporadiques)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek σποραδικός (sporadikós, “scattered”).[2][3][4][5] The Greek word is derived from σποράς (sporás, “scattered, sporadic”), from σπείρω (speírō, “to sow, to scatter”), which Rey connects with a root Proto-Indo-European *sp(h)er- “to scatter, sow”, also seen in Latin spargō (“to scatter”) (the source of épars).[3] Aristotle used the Greek adjective of animals living alone and roaming, and Galen of diseases.[2] The Sporades islands in the Aegean are likewise “the scattered ones”.[3][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded in 1620, in Lampérière's Traité de la peste, of a disease that strikes isolated individuals.[2][6][7]

Semantic evolution

Taken up again in the 19th century, the word was applied to things scattered in space: to plant and animal species found here and there (1831), to blocks of rock in geology (1872) and to meteors in astronomy (1848).[3][2][6] In the 20th century it became a common word for what happens now and then, irregularly, especially of violent events such as riots and uprisings.[3][6]

Timeline

  • 1620 – Lampérière's treatise on the plague uses it of a disease.[2][7]
  • 1669 – Date given by Bloch and Wartburg and the Grand Robert for the medical term.[4][5]
  • 1831 – A botanical dictionary applies it to genera whose species are scattered in several regions.[2]
  • 1845 – Bescherelle records sporadiquement.[2][3]
  • 1848 – Astronomy speaks of sporadic meteors.[3]
  • 1865 – The noun sporadicité appears.[2][3]
  • 1872 – Littré records it of geological masses.[6][3]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. (medicine) Said of a disease that affects a few individuals in isolation, as opposed to épidémique or endémique.[7][6][8]
  2. (natural sciences) Scattered in space, said of species whose individuals are dispersed in various regions.[7][6]
  3. sporadic, occurring here and there, now and then, irregularly: des pannes sporadiques ont touché le quartier.[7][8][6]

Word family

  • sporadiquement
  • sporadicité

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h 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 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ 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
  7. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  8. ^ a b Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Sporadique.” Etymologically, 15 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/sporadique. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

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