Etymologically
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surface

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /syʁ.fas/[1]

Forms

surface f (plural surfaces)[1]

Etymology

It is from French sur- + face, modelled on Latin superficiēs (“upper side, surface”), which French also borrowed as superficie.[2][3][1][4] Middle French also had superface (1521).[2][4][5] face continues Late Latin facia, for Classical Latin faciēs (“appearance, face”).[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The TLFi and the DHLF find it about 1378–80 in Jean Le Fèvre's translation of La Vieille, for the outer, visible part of a body; the Grand Robert and Petit Robert date the word to 1611, after superface (1521).[2][3][4][6]

Semantic evolution

The word took over part of the senses of superficie.[3] From the outer part of a body that bounds it on all sides came a shallow visible layer (1690), the ground as opposed to the subsoil, and the top of a body of water, whence à la surface (Hugo, 1862) and faire surface, to surface (1949), also figuratively refaire surface, to reappear after an absence.[3][7] Figuratively it means outward appearance (Nicole, 1671).[2][3]

From 1690 (Furetière) it named the outer face of a body considered as to its extent, an area, and in geometry a surface (1691).[2][3] Technical uses followed, such as surface de chauffe (1838), and in commerce grande surface, a hypermarket, appears in 1969.[2]

Timeline

  • 1521 – Superface.[2][4]
  • c. 1378–80 – Surface in Jean Le Fèvre.[2][3]
  • 1671 – Nicole: “outward appearance”.[2]
  • 1690 – Furetière: “area”.[2]
  • 1691 – In geometry.[2]
  • 1949 – Faire surface.[7]
  • 1969 – Grande surface, a hypermarket.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The outer part of a body; its surface: la surface de la Terre.[6][1]
  2. The top of a liquid: la surface de l'eau, faire surface, to come to the surface, refaire surface, to reappear.[6][3]
  3. (figurative) Outward appearance, what is superficial: rester à la surface des choses.[6][3]
  4. An area, an extent measured in square units.[6][2]
  5. (geometry) A surface, a two-dimensional figure.[2][6]
  6. Grande surface: a large self-service store, a hypermarket.[2][6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ 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
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c d Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  7. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse