subsistance

Forms

subsistance f (plural subsistances)^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from French subsister + -ance.^[2][3][4][5] subsister (1495) is a borrowing of Latin subsistō (“to stand still, to remain, later to subsist”).^[4][6] Littré instead derived the noun from Latin subsistentia.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

In 1471 it named a tax added to the taille and set aside for the upkeep of the troops.^[2][8][9]

Semantic evolution

From 1514 it meant the fact of subsisting, of a building (Bouchard's Grandes chroniques de Bretagne), and in the classical period the fact of lasting, as of the Church.^[2][8][4] The 17th century also used it for a state of being (1636), in en bonne subsistance “in good condition” (1648), and for “resistance” (1616).^[8]

The sense of what sustains life appears in 1618 (Vigenère), food and upkeep in 1642 and the means of living in 1652 (La Rochefoucauld).^[2][8] The plural subsistances became usual at the end of the 17th century for provisions; from about 1730 it meant everything needed to feed and keep an army, and Quesnay used it in economics in 1767 for a country's food supply.^[4][2][8] Mettre en subsistance, to take an isolated soldier into a regiment and feed and pay him, is recorded in 1812.^[2]

Timeline

• 1471 – First recorded for a tax for the upkeep of troops.^[2][8]
• 1514 – Used of a building's lasting.^[2][8]
• 1618 – Vigenère uses it for what sustains existence.^[2]
• 1652 – La Rochefoucauld uses it for the means of living.^[2][8]
• c. 1730 – The plural names an army's provisions.^[2][8]
• 1767 – Quesnay uses the plural in economics.^[2]
• 1812 – Mettre en subsistance is recorded.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. What provides for material existence, food and upkeep, subsistence: moyens de subsistance: Elle travaillait la nuit pour assurer la subsistance de ses enfants.^[10][2][7]
2. (economics) Économie de subsistance: an economy aimed at meeting material needs directly.^[10]
3. (dated, plural) Les subsistances: the provisions that let a country or a group live.^[10][7]
4. (military) Service des subsistances: the commissariat of an army;^[10][7][2] mettre en subsistance: to take an isolated soldier into a regiment, feeding and paying him.^[10][7][2]

Related words

• subsister
• Latin subsisto

Usage notes

It is a different word from the philosophical term subsistance or subsistence (1372, Foulechat; 1541, Calvin), a calque of the Church Latin subsistentia “substance, essence”.^[2][4]

References

1. ^ a b 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 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. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d e Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
5. ^ Wiktionnaire (French Wiktionary), fr.wiktionary.org
6. ^ Picoche, Jacqueline (1991), Dictionnaire étymologique du français, Paris: Le Robert (Les Usuels du Robert)
7. ^ a b c d e Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ a b c d e f g h i Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
10. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert