tard

Pronunciation

• IPA (France): /taʁ/^[1]
• IPA (Quebec, formal): /tɑːʁ/^[1]
• IPA (Gaspésie, Quebec, informal): /tɑɔ̯ʁ̥/^[1]

Forms

tard^[1] Old French tart, tard from about 1360.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French tart, inherited from Latin tardē (“slowly; late”), from tardus (“slow”).^{[4][2][5][6][1]} Latin “tardus” has no known etymology, though Rey notes its resemblance to Ancient Greek βραδύς (bradús, “slow”).^[2] The adjectival and noun uses come from the adverb.^[4]

Cognate with Italian tardi, Occitan tard, Catalan tard and Spanish tarde, Spanish “tarde” also came to mean “afternoon, evening”.^[5][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

About 1050 the Vie de saint Alexis has lui est tart que “he longs for”, literally “it is late for him that”.^[4][8][9]

Semantic evolution

About 1100 it meant “too late, past the right moment”, and in Wace (1160–74) “at a late hour”, as in soi colcheir tart “to go to bed late”, u tost u tart “sooner or later” dates from 1174–76.^[4][2] Il est tard is found in 1273, il se fait tard in 1636, and au plus tard in 1636.^[8][2] From 1559 it was used of an advanced age.^[4]

As an adjective, tard “slow” (about 1265) and heure tarde (1450) lasted until the end of the 16th century, sur le tard meant “in the evening” in 1376 and now means “late in life”.^[4][2] The verb tarder (1119) is a borrowing from Latin tardāre; the inherited targer was still found in the 17th century.^[2]

Timeline

• c. 1050 – Lui est tart que in the Vie de saint Alexis.^[4]
• c. 1100 – Tart “too late” in the Chanson de Roland.^[4]
• 1160–1174 – “At a late hour”, in Wace.^[4]
• 1174–1176 – U tost u tart, sooner or later.^[4]
• c. 1360 – The spelling tard.^[2]
• 1376 – Sur le tard.^[4]
• 1559 – “Late in life”, in Amyot.^[4]
• 1636 – Il se fait tard and au plus tard.^[2]

Meanings

Adverb

1. late: at an advanced hour or time: se coucher tard.^[10][11]
2. Too late, after the right moment: il est trop tard.^[10]
3. Tôt ou tard: sooner or later, plus tard: later, au plus tard: at the latest.^[10][11]
4. Mieux vaut tard que jamais: better late than never.^[4][10]

Noun

1. Sur le tard: late in the day; late in life: se marier sur le tard.^[11]

Word family

• attarder

Related words

• tarder
• tardif
• retard

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m 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
5. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 13/1, 119a
7. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
8. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
9. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
10. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
11. ^ a b c Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)