Etymologically
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temps

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Pronunciation

  • IPA (France): /tɑ̃/[1]
  • IPA (Quebec): /tã/[1]

Forms

temps m (invariable)[1] Old French tens, tans (common until the 16th century); temps after Latin from the 14th century (once about 980), competing with tems in the 17th and 18th.[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French tens, inherited from Latin tempus (“time; period, moment; the right moment; weather”) (genitive “temporis”).[5][2][3][6] Latin “tempus” was a portion of time, as opposed to “aevum”, time in its continuity (see âge), and also a metrical length and a verbal tense, French “temps” combines the values of both Latin words.[2] The origin of “tempus” is obscure, and a link with “temperare” (see tempérer) is uncertain.[2][7]

Cognate with Italian tempo, Old Occitan temps, Catalan temps, Spanish tiempo, Portuguese tempo and Romanian timp.[7][8] English tense (14th century) is from Old French.[7][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Vie de saint Léger (late 10th century) has a ciels temps, in those times, for a period of the past, and Et or es temps, now is the right time;[5] the Vie de saint Alexis (about 1050) begins Bons fut li secles al tens ancïenur.[5]

Semantic evolution

In the Chanson de Roland (about 1100) sun tens is a person's lifetime, and venir a tens “to come in time”.[5][8] About 1160 (Eneas) lait tens was bad weather, whence après la pluie vient le beau temps (1536), and about 1200 a season.[5] Guillaume de Lorris (1225–1230) personifies Li tens, qui tote chose mue, and gives avoir bon tens “to be happy”, later prendre du bon temps (1561).[5][2] In grammar it is a tense (14th century), in music and fencing a beat (1677), in astronomy temps vrai (1755), in engines moteur à quatre temps (1886–1889) and in sport the time of a race (1860).[5][10]

Countless phrases include de temps en temps, au bon vieux temps (Marot), il est temps de (1382), prendre son temps (1670), dans le temps “formerly” and en deux temps (1789).[5][2][10] Pascal (1657–1658) records the philosophers' debate on the essence of time.[5]

Timeline

  • Late 10th century – Temps in the Vie de saint Léger.[5]
  • c. 1050 – Al tens ancïenur in Saint Alexis.[5]
  • c. 1100 – A lifetime, in the Chanson de Roland.[5]
  • c. 1160 – “Weather”, in Eneas.[5]
  • 1225–1230 – Time personified, in Guillaume de Lorris.[5]
  • 14th century – A grammatical tense.[5]
  • 1538 – Au bon vieulx temps in Marot.[5]
  • 1677 – A musical beat.[5]
  • 1889 – Moteur à quatre temps.[5]

Meanings

Noun

  1. Time: le temps passe, avoir le temps, perdre son temps, de temps en temps.[7][1]
  2. A period, time, age: au temps des Romains, dans le temps: in the old days, le bon vieux temps.[5][1]
  3. The right time: il est temps de partir, à temps: in time.[5][2]
  4. Weather: quel temps fait-il ?, beau temps, mauvais temps.[1][5]
  5. (grammar) A tense: les temps du verbe.[1][5]
  6. (music) A beat, (sport) a time: réaliser un bon temps, (engines) a stroke: moteur à quatre temps.[5][11]
  7. Mi-temps: half time, à plein temps, à temps partiel: full-time, part-time.[1][11]

Word family

  • longtemps
  • mi-temps
  • printemps
  • contretemps
  • quatre-temps
  • passe-temps

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  3. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  4. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w 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
  6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 13/1, 185a
  7. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  8. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  9. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
  10. ^ a b Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
  11. ^ a b Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)