succion

Forms

succion f (plural succions)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Medieval Latin suctiō (“sucking”),^[2][3][4] from Latin suctus (“sucking, suction”), from the supine of sūgō (“to suck”),^[2][3][5] the source of sucer.^[2] Bloch and Wartburg and the Grand Robert treat the spelling as standing for suction.^[6][5]

Littré compares Old Occitan succio.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Henri de Mondeville's Chirurgie (1314) uses it for sucking wounds to draw out harmful matter or venom.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

The surgical sense came first.^[3] In botany the word was taken up for the rise of sap in plants (1704 according to the DHLF and the GLLF, 1801 in the TLFi),^[3][4][2] and in the mid-18th century for taking in food by sucking (Buffon).^[2][3] Zoologists used it for the feeding of sucking animals (1893).^[2] In technology it names the work of instruments that create a partial vacuum (1892), and figuratively it means “aspiration” (1856, Baudelaire).^[2][3] It later gave the compound liposuccion.^[3]

Timeline

• 1314 – Henri de Mondeville uses it for sucking wounds.^[2][3]
• 1704 – Trévoux applies it to the rise of sap in plants.^[4][3]
• Mid-18th century – Buffon uses it for drawing in food.^[2][4]
• 1856 – Baudelaire uses it figuratively.^[2][3]
• 1892 – Used of devices that suck by creating a vacuum.^[2][3]
• 1893 – Used in zoology for the feeding of sucking animals.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. The act of sucking, drawing a fluid into the mouth by creating a vacuum: le réflexe de succion du nourrisson.^[8][2][7]
2. (botany) The drawing up of fluids by roots and leaves.^[7][2]
3. (technical) Suction by devices that create a partial vacuum.^[8][2]
4. (figurative) A pull, an aspiration.^[2][8]

Word family

• liposuccion

Related words

• sucer
• suceur
• Latin sūgō

Usage notes

The Grand Robert gives /syksjɔ̃/ as the pronunciation that purists prefer, but /sysjɔ̃/ as the commonest.^[5][8]

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. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
5. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ 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 Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert