station

Forms

station f (plural stations)^[1] Old French estacion and statiun.^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French estacion, borrowed from Latin stātiō (“standing still, post, anchorage”),^[1][3][2] from the supine of stō (“to stand”),^[2][5] the verb that also gave ester¹.^[2] In Latin the noun meant a fixed position and a place of residence, an anchorage, a military post and its guard; in Late Latin the office of a provincial official, and in Christian Latin a gathering of Christians praying standing, a halt in a procession and the service held there.^[2][3] Bloch and Wartburg note that the word was little used in the Middle Ages.^[6]

Cognate with Italian stazione, Old Occitan estatio, Spanish estación, Catalan estació and Portuguese estação.^[7][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found about 1170 in the Livre des Rois, meaning a place where one settles: Deus les mist en terre de promissiun, en certaine statiun “God put them in the promised land, in a sure dwelling”.^[7][3][2]

Semantic evolution

From Church Latin the word took about 1190 the senses “halt on a journey” (estacion) and “visit to appointed churches for prayer”, as in faire ses stations;^[3][2] since 1810 the stations of the Cross have been the halts of Jesus on the way to Calvary, and then the images that show them.^[3][2] A naval sense, “anchorage” (about 1500), led to a stretch of sea kept by warships (1773).^[3][2] In 1671 astronomy used it for the apparent halt of a planet.^[3][2] From 1690 it also named the place where an observer stands.^[3][2]

From the idea of a stopping place, in 1761 Rousseau used it for a place where carriages stop, and station de chemin de fer is recorded in 1827;^[3][2] Bloch and Wartburg think the railway sense may also owe something to English.^[6] Gare prevailed for a railway station in France, where station is now a small stop or a stop on the métro, while Quebec uses it for any railway station.^[2] A place visited or stayed in (1680) led to stations thermales (1865) and later to seaside and other resorts.^[3][2] The observer's place gave scientific stations (1877), telephone and telegraph stations (1880, 1890) and radio stations (1911, 1933).^[3][2][9] Since 1800 station has also meant the way one stands, as in station debout.^[3][2]

Timeline

• c. 1170 – Statiun “place where one settles” appears in the Livre des Rois.^[3][7]
• c. 1190 – Estacion is used for a halt on a journey and for a visit to churches.^[3][2]
• c. 1500 – It means an anchorage.^[3]
• 1671 – It is used in astronomy for the apparent halt of a planet.^[3][5]
• 1690 – Furetière records it for an observer's position.^[3]
• 1761 – Rousseau uses it for a place where carriages stop.^[3][2]
• 1773 – A naval station is a stretch of sea kept by ships.^[3][2]
• 1800 – Bonald uses it for standing upright.^[3]
• 1810 – Chateaubriand uses it for the Stations of the Cross.^[3]
• 1827 – Station du chemin de fer is recorded.^[3][2]
• 1865 – Stations thermales are recorded.^[3]
• 1880 – It is used in telephony.^[3]
• 1911 – It is used of radio.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. A halt or stop during a journey;^[8][3] (Christianity) each of the Stations of the Cross, or an image of it.^[8][3]
2. (astronomy) The apparent stop of a planet between its direct and retrograde motion.^[8][3]
3. A stopping place for public transport: station de métro, station de taxis; a small railway station.^[8][2]
4. A resort: station thermale, station balnéaire.^[8][2]
5. An installation for observation or research: station météorologique; a broadcasting station: station de radio.^[8][2]
6. (nautical) A stretch of sea patrolled by warships; the ships assigned to it.^[8][3]
7. (biology) The place where a species of plant or animal grows or lives.^[3][2]
8. A way of standing, posture: station debout.^[3][2]
9. (New Caledonia) A large livestock farm.^[2]

Word family

• stationner
• stationnement
• sous-station

Related words

• stationnaire
• ester¹
• stage
• Latin stātiō
• English station

Usage notes

Taxi ranks are stations in France, which slang shortened to stasse (1935).^[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 r s t u v w x y z 27 Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z 27 28 29 30 31 32 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
4. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
5. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
6. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
7. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ a b c d e f g h Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF