Etymologically
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supplier

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 18 October 2026 at 14:52. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /sy.pli.je/[1]

Forms

supplier[1] Old French sopleier (about 1130), sosploier, souploier (12th century), souplier (13th century); supplier from 1349 (Machaut).[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French souploier, inherited from Latin supplicō (“to kneel; to pray, implore”), properly “to bend the knees”, formed from sub- and plicō (“to fold”), and related to supplex (“suppliant”).[2][5][4] In the 14th century it was remade after the Latin form.[3][4][2] The Old French verb also meant “to bend” (from a compound of ployer) and “to make up for”, since the verb from Latin suppleō (now suppléer) often took the same form; this homonymy, settled only in the 16th century, is one reason the learned spellings were adopted.[4][2][5] Cognate with Old Occitan soplegar.[4][6] Littré, following Festus, took the Latin verb from a form meaning “to appease”.[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Roman d'Énéas (about 1160) has sosploier for praying someone very insistently.[3] The GLLF dates soplier to about 1130.[8]

Semantic evolution

In Old French the verb also meant to pay homage in sign of submission (1160–1170), to bow down (about 1175) and to weaken or soften (late 12th century).[2] Guillaume de Machaut writes supplier a Dieu que in 1349, and supplier a quelqu'un que in 1377.[3] The construction supplier quelque chose à quelqu'un (1373) disappeared, leaving only supplier quelqu'un de (late 15th century, Commynes) or que.[2][8] Old petitions began with the formula Supplie humblement….[7] By exaggeration it is used as a strong polite request: je vous supplie de vous taire.[9]

Timeline

  • c. 1130 – Soplier.[8]
  • c. 1160 – Sosploier in Énéas.[3]
  • 1349 – Supplier in Machaut.[3]
  • 1373 – Supplier quelque chose à quelqu'un.[2]
  • Late 15th century – Supplier quelqu'un de, in Commynes.[8]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To beg, implore someone humbly and insistently: supplier quelqu'un à genoux, je vous en supplie.[9][10]
  2. To pray to God with complete humility.[8][3]
  3. (polite, by exaggeration) To ask insistently: je vous supplie de vous taire.[9][10]

Word family

  • suppliant
  • supplication
  • supplice
  • souple
  • plier
  • Latin supplicō

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  3. ^ a b c d e f g 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. ^ 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. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  7. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  8. ^ a b c d e Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  9. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  10. ^ a b Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)