surgir

Pronunciation

• IPA: /syʁ.ʒiʁ/^[1]

Forms

surgir^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin surgō (“to raise; to rise, get up”).^[2][3][4] The Latin verb is a contraction of surrigō, from sub- (“up from under”) and regō (“to direct, guide”).^[3][5] By sound change the same Latin verb gave the inherited sourdre, which the borrowed verb partly replaced.^[3][4][1]

The verb came into French twice.^[3] The old nautical sense “to drop anchor, put into port” (sourgir, 1423) was taken, according to Bloch and Wartburg, from Old Occitan sorgir (“to anchor”), recorded about 1300, rather than from Spanish surgir;^[4][2] the Grand Robert links it with the Catalan and Spanish verbs, “to rise up from the sea”, hence “to land”.^[6] The modern sense “to appear suddenly” is a separate learned borrowing of the Latin verb, isolated in 1553 and established from 1808.^[6][2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Ghillebert de Lannoy (1423) uses sourgir of large ships anchoring at a good harbour; in 1497 surgir means to come into port.^[2][4]

Semantic evolution

The nautical surgir au port or surgir à bon port (Rabelais, 1552) was used figuratively by Lamartine for reaching one's goal; it is now archaic.^[2][6] A single 1553 example of “to rise up suddenly into view” stayed isolated, and Rabelais's present participle surgeant (1564) is a Latinism.^[2][3]

Boiste recorded the modern sense in 1808, and it was still rare before the second half of the 19th century.^[6] It took over several senses of sourdre: said of a person (1823), of an abstract thing (1831), of a building rising from the ground (1875) and of images coming to mind (late 19th century).^[3][2] The noun surgissement dates from 1863.^[2]

Timeline

• 1423 – Sourgir “to anchor” in Ghillebert de Lannoy.^[2]
• 1497 – Surgir “to put into port”.^[2][4]
• 1552 – Surgir à bon port in Rabelais.^[2]
• 1553 – Isolated example of “to appear by rising up”.^[2]
• 1808 – Boiste records the modern sense.^[6][2]
• 1823 – Of a person appearing suddenly.^[2][3]
• 1863 – The noun surgissement.^[2]

Meanings

Verb

1. To appear or arise suddenly by rising up or coming out of something: un arbre qui surgit du sol.^[7][5]
2. Of a living being, to appear suddenly: le loup surgit.^[7][5]
3. (figurative) To come up, crop up: des difficultés surgissent.^[7][8]
4. (nautical, archaic) To put into port: surgir à bon port.^[6][2]

Related words

• sourdre
• Latin surgō

References

1. ^ a b c 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 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
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 c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
6. ^ a b c d e f Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)