surcharge

Forms

surcharge f (plural surcharges)^[1] Anglo-Norman sorcharge, surcarke, surkark.^[2]

Etymology

The TLFi derives it from French sur- + charge.^[3][4] The Grand Robert, the Petit Robert and the GLLF instead take it as a deverbal noun from French surcharger.^[5][6][7] The verb was first sorchacier (early 13th century), and Anglo-Norman already had the noun sorcharge in the first half of the 13th century.^[8][2] The noun charge goes back to Late Latin carricō (“to load a cart”).^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its first, isolated record is in a manuscript of French proverbs of the late 13th or early 14th century, for a weight greater than can be carried.^[3][8]

Semantic evolution

After that record the word reappears about 1500, both for an added load and for an excessive one.^[8][5] From 1512 (Jean Lemaire de Belges) it meant an excess of taxes,^[3][7] and after 1559 (Amyot) figuratively a surplus or extra burden, as in une surcharge de nouvelle frayeur “an added burden of fresh fear”.^[3][9] Voltaire used it of an excess of ideas in 1738, and in 1788 it was first said of overloaded ornament in the arts.^[3][8]

A second group of senses names something placed over something else: words written over other words (1636, Monet), an overprint on a postage stamp (1933) and paint laid over another layer in a picture.^[3][8] Technical senses followed in the 19th century: the load forbidden by regulations on coaches (Balzac, 1842), the extra weight a racehorse must carry (1857), and excess baggage and the excess load on a floor (Littré, 1872).^[3][9]

Timeline

• 1203–1253 – Anglo-Norman sorcharge is recorded.^[2]
• c. 1300 – An isolated record in a manuscript of French proverbs.^[3]
• c. 1500 – The word comes back into use.^[5][6][8]
• 1512 – Jean Lemaire de Belges uses it for excessive taxation.^[3][7]
• 1559 – Amyot uses it figuratively, “an added burden”.^[3][9]
• 1636 – Monet records it for letters written over other letters.^[3]
• 1690 – Furetière uses it of an extra load built on a wall.^[3]
• 1857 – First record in horse racing.^[3]
• 1933 – The sense “overprint on a postage stamp” appears.^[3][8]

Meanings

Noun

1. An added load, beyond the ordinary one, or a load greater than is allowed: en surcharge, overloaded.^[6][3]
2. (horse racing) Extra weight imposed on a horse, a handicap.^[6][9]
3. (figurative) An excess or surplus: une surcharge de travail.^[6][3]
4. An added tax or charge.^[6][9]
5. Overloading, of a vehicle, a lift or an electrical circuit.^[6]
6. (medicine) The presence of a substance in excess in cells that normally hold less of it.^[6]
7. A word written over another, or an overprint on a postage stamp.^[3][8]
8. (computing) Overloading of a function or operator.^[1]

Related words

• surcharger
• charge
• charger
• décharge

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
3. ^ 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
4. ^ a b Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 2/i, 420a
5. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ a b c d e f g h Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
8. ^ a b c d e f g h Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ a b c d e Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette