stratosphère

Forms

stratosphère f (plural stratosphères)^[1]

Etymology

It is a compound from French strato- + -sphère, formed on the model of atmosphère.^[2][3][4] The first element goes back to Latin strātus (“spread out”), the past participle of sternō (“to spread out”),^[2][5] and is used in learned compounds for the idea of a layer.^[6] The second is sphère, from Ancient Greek σφαῖρα (sphaîra, “ball, sphere”) through Late Latin.^[6]

The word was coined in meteorology by Léon Teisserenc de Bort.^[4][7] The TLFi dates it to 1909, in his La Circulation de l'atmosphère;^[2] Bloch and Wartburg, the Grand Robert, the Petit Robert and the DHLF give 1898.^[8][7][9][4] The GLLF calls the 1898 date, taken from a Larousse of 1949, false, and gives a Larousse dictionary of 1923 as the next record.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Teisserenc de Bort created it in meteorology for a layer of the upper atmosphere.^[4][2]

Semantic evolution

The word was made to name a layer of the atmosphere, later defined as lying between the troposphère (a term recorded before 1913) and the mésosphère (about 1960), at roughly 17 to 50 km.^[4] The adjective stratosphérique followed in 1931 and was much used when balloons explored this layer in the 1930s.^[4][2] Of the meteorological compounds in strato-, stratosphère is the only one that passed into everyday language.^[4] The Wiktionnaire also records a figurative sense, the highest point of something.^[10]

English stratosphere (1908) was taken from the French word.^[11]

Timeline

• 1898 – Teisserenc de Bort coins the word, according to Bloch and Wartburg, the Robert and the DHLF.^[8][7][4]
• 1908 – English borrows it as stratosphere.^[11]
• 1909 – First record given by the TLFi, in Teisserenc de Bort's La Circulation de l'atmosphère.^[2]
• 1923 – A Larousse dictionary records it.^[5]
• 1931 – The adjective stratosphérique appears, in a report of Professor Piccard's balloon ascent.^[2]
• 1935 – The Académie française includes it in its dictionary.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. The stratosphere, the layer of the atmosphere between the troposphere and the mesosphere, at about 12 to 50 km of altitude.^[9][2][12]
2. (figurative) The highest point of something.^[10]

Word family

• stratosphérique

Related words

• atmosphère
• sphère
• troposphère
• mésosphère
• strate
• Latin sternō
• English stratosphere

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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
3. ^ Académie française (1992–2024), Dictionnaire de l'Académie française, 9th ed., Paris: Académie française / Fayard / Imprimerie nationale
4. ^ a b c d e f g h Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
6. ^ a b Picoche, Jacqueline (1991), Dictionnaire étymologique du français, Paris: Le Robert (Les Usuels du Robert)
7. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
9. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
10. ^ a b Wiktionnaire (French Wiktionary), fr.wiktionary.org
11. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
12. ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)