sujet

French sujet is two borrowings from Latin: the adjective “subject (to)”, with the noun for a ruler's subject, from subjectus, and the noun “topic, subject”, from scholastic Latin subjectum.^[1][2][3]

sujet¹ subject to; a ruler's subject

Pronunciation

• IPA: /sy.ʒɛ/^[3]

Forms

sujet (feminine sujette, masculine plural sujets, feminine plural sujettes)^[3]

Etymology

The adjective is borrowed from Latin subiectus (“placed under; subjected, subject”),^[1][4][3][5] the past participle of subiciō (“to place under; to subject”), from sub- and iaciō (“to throw”).^[1][4] The early form suget was remade as “sujet” about 1138, with “subject” as a learned variant until the 16th century.^[4][2] The verb “subicere” itself survived in Old French sougire (“to subdue”).^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Oxford Psalter (first half of the 12th century) has sugete a Deu “subject to God”;^[1][6] Wace (1155) uses it of a man subject to a king.^[1]

Semantic evolution

The noun for a person under a sovereign's rule is recorded from 1325 (touz nos subgiés).^[1][7] From the 15th century the adjective meant “bound by law to an obligation” (1485), as in sujet à caution “unreliable, needing confirmation” (1579).^[1][4] It also meant “prone (to an illness or a failing)” (1485) and, of things, “liable to (some drawback)” (Marot, 1531).^[1] In the 18th century the noun could mean simply “citizen” (1762), but it now implies subjection to a hereditary ruler, except in the administrative sense “national” (sujet britannique).^[4][7]

Timeline

• Early 12th century – Sugete a Deu in the Oxford Psalter.^[1]
• c. 1138 – The form sujet.^[4]
• 1325 – The noun “a ruler's subject”.^[1]
• 1485 – “Prone to (illness)”.^[1]
• 1579 – Subject à caution in Henri Estienne.^[1]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Sujet à: Prone or liable to: sujet au vertige.^[8][1]
2. Sujet à caution: open to doubt, unreliable.^[8][1]
3. (rare) Subject to a sovereign authority.^[1][2]

Noun

1. A subject of a sovereign.^[7][8]
2. A national of a state: sujet britannique.^[7]

Word family

• sujétion
• assujettir

sujet² topic

Pronunciation

• IPA: /sy.ʒɛ/^[3]

Forms

sujet m (plural sujets)^[3]

Etymology

The noun “topic” is borrowed from Medieval Latin subiectum (“that which is placed under; subject”), a term of scholastic philosophy, the neuter of subiectus;^{[9][7][3][10]} it was opposed to obiectum, whence in part the philosophical pair “sujet” and objet.^[9] The grammatical sense comes from Latin grammar.^[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

Oresme uses subjet about 1370 as a term of philosophy, the subject of which something is said.^[9][2]

Semantic evolution

From the 16th century the word took the wider senses “matter, cause, motive” (sujet de plainte),^[9] and “what a conversation or writing is about” (1556);^[7] the grammatical subject of a verb is also a 16th-century use.^[9] From “person who is the cause or object of something” it came to mean a person considered for his abilities (un bon sujet, un brillant sujet), a person under observation or experiment, and, in a ballet company, a dancer of the rank above the corps de ballet.^[9][11][7]

In the arts it names the theme of a work, and a carved or painted figure (un sujet en porcelaine).^[11] In examinations the sujet is the question set (hors sujet “off the point”).^[11][3] Russian сюжет (sjužet, “plot”) is borrowed from it.^[3]

Timeline

• c. 1370 – Subjet in Oresme.^[9]
• 1556 – “What a conversation is about”.^[7]
• 16th century – The grammatical subject, “cause, motive”.^[9]

Meanings

Noun

1. The Topic or matter of a discussion, a piece of writing or a work of art: entrer dans le vif du sujet, au sujet de: about.^[7][11]
2. A cause or reason: un sujet de dispute.^[11][3]
3. An examination question: hors sujet.^[11][3]
4. (grammar, logic, philosophy) The subject of a verb or proposition; the thinking self, as opposed to the object.^[7][9]
5. A person considered for his abilities, or as the subject of an experiment or observation.^[11][9]
6. A figurine or decorative figure.^[11]

Related words

• objet
• English subject

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o 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
2. ^ a b c d Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
4. ^ a b c d e f g Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 12, 339b
6. ^ Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ a b c Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
10. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 12, 338b
11. ^ a b c d e f g h Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)