stéréotype

Forms

stéréotype m (plural stéréotypes)^[1]

Etymology

It is a compound from French stéréo- + -type.^{[2][3][4][5][6]} The first element is from Ancient Greek στερεός (stereós, “solid”),^[7] the second from τύπος (túpos, “blow, mark, impression”).^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded as an adjective in the Journal de Paris of 3 vendémiaire year V (1796), describing a book printed with stereotyped plates.^[2][3][5]

Semantic evolution

The adjective soon went out of use, but the word survived as a masculine noun for the stereotype plate itself (1803, Boiste), also clipped to stéréo from the mid-20th century.^[5][2] The idea of a fixed image then gave the common sense of a ready-made opinion that ignores individual differences, much like cliché (1954, Marrou),^[2][5][4] and learned senses: a set of constants persisting through individual variations (about 1950), and a term of psychology (1957, Piéron).^[5][2][8] Linguists use it of a fixed phrase (1968).^[8][9]

English stereotype (1798) was taken from the French adjective; it named the printing plate by 1817 and an image perpetuated without change by 1850.^[7]

Timeline

• 1796 – The adjective appears in the Journal de Paris.^[2][3]
• 1797 – Firmin Didot uses the adjective of books printed from stereotype plates.^[8][9]
• 1798 – English borrows it as stereotype.^[7]
• 1803 – Boiste records the noun for the printing plate.^[2][8][5]
• 1954 – Marrou uses it of a ready-made opinion or formula.^[2][4]
• 1957 – Piéron records the sense in psychology.^[2][8]
• 1968 – Larousse records the sense “fixed phrase” in linguistics.^[8][9]

Meanings

Noun

1. A stereotype: a ready-made opinion that reduces individual differences; a cliché.^[4][2][1]
2. (formal) A stable association of elements (images, ideas, symbols, words) forming a unit.^[4]
3. (linguistics) A fixed phrase.^[8][9]
4. (psychology) An association between a stimulus and a response that a group favours over other possible responses, established by statistics, also, in psychopathology, the automatic repetition of a behaviour or words.^[8][2]
5. (printing) A metal printing plate cast from a mould of set type, often clipped to stéréo.^[2][1][10]

Word family

• stéréotyper

Related words

• type
• cliché
• English stereotype

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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
3. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b c d e f Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 13/2, 462a
7. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
8. ^ 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
9. ^ a b c d Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
10. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette