Etymologically
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te

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Pronunciation

Forms

te (t’ before a vowel or mute h).[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French te, inherited from Latin tē (“you”), the accusative of “tū”, in unstressed position; the stressed form of the same Latin word is toi.[2][4][3][5] Wiktionary traces it to Proto-Indo-European *twé, the accusative of Proto-Indo-European *túh₂ (“you”).[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Passion de Clermont (late 10th century) has te as a direct object: nos te laudam “we praise you”.[6]

Semantic evolution

By the late 10th century te was also an indirect object, placed before a direct object pronoun (non t'o permet “does not allow it to you”); from 1174–87 it is found after the third-person pronoun (qui les te bailla ? “who gave them to you?”).[6] The ethic dative (je te lui ai envoyé un coup de pied) is familiar.[3][2]

Timeline

  • late 10th century – Te in the Passion de Clermont.[6]
  • c. 1050 – Elided t’ in the Vie de saint Alexis.[6]
  • 1174–87 – Les te in Chrétien de Troyes.[6]

Meanings

Pronoun

  1. you: second person singular direct object pronoun: je t'aime.[1][2]
  2. (To) you: indirect object: je te donnerai, cela peut t'être utile.[1][2]
  3. Yourself: reflexive: tu te lèves.[1]
  4. (familiar) Expresses the interest of the person spoken to: et je te frotte, et je te brique.[2][3]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  3. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  4. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 13/1, 148a
  5. ^ 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 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