titulaire

Forms

titulaire (plural titulaires)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin titulus (“title”) with the suffix -aire, a learned formation.^[2][3][4][5] Littré and Wiktionary derive it instead from the Late Latin adjective titulāris.^[6][1] Its base is the same Latin word as that of titre.^[2][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Bloch and Wartburg date it to 1502, with no sense given.^[4][8] The TLFi's first record is a noun in 1516, meaning “one who holds the title”, and the adjective follows in 1529 in a charter of Ponthieu, spelt titulayre.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

In the 16th century it became a church term: an évêque titulaire (about 1550) bears the title of a diocese that no longer exists and has no jurisdiction.^[3][8] Calvin used it in 1561 of what consists only in a title, and Montaigne spoke of favours “honoraires et titulaires, sans substance”.^[3][6] From 1636 it qualified a person who bears a title (abbé titulaire).^[3][8]

From 1680 it named a person who holds an office by virtue of a title, a use now common in titulaire de.^[3][8] In Catholic usage it has applied, since about 1850, to the saint whose name a church bears.^[3] In Quebec a professeur titulaire is a professor promoted to a higher rank, and in Belgium the noun names the teacher in charge of a class.^[3] Wiktionary also gives a sports sense, a player in the starting team.^[1]

Timeline

• 1502 – First record, with no sense given.^[4][8]
• 1516 – Used as a noun, “one who holds the title”.^[2][3]
• 1529 – The adjective titulayre appears in a charter of Ponthieu.^[2]
• c. 1550 – Bonivard writes of an evesque titulaire.^[3][6]
• 1636 – Monet uses it of a person invested with a title.^[8][3]
• 1680 – Richelet records it for the holder of an office.^[8][3]
• 1694 – The Académie records the bishop's or abbot's title without jurisdiction.^[8][3]
• c. 1850 – Applied to the patron saint of a church.^[3]

Meanings

Adjective

1. (rare) Invested with a title.^[7][2]
2. (religion) Giving its name to a church: patron titulaire.^[7][2]
3. (religion) Bearing only the title of a diocese or church, without jurisdiction: évêque titulaire.^[7][2]
4. Holding a post to which one has been personally appointed by virtue of a title, tenured: professeur titulaire.^[7][9]
5. Legally holding something: titulaire d'un droit, titulaire du permis de conduire.^[7][9]
6. (sports) In the starting team, as opposed to a substitute.^[1]

Noun

1. The holder of a post, a right, an account or a title.^[7][1]
2. Le titulaire d'une église: the divine person, mystery or saint whose name a church bears.^[7][9]
3. (Belgium) The teacher in charge of a class.^[3]

Word family

• titulariser
• titulariat

Related words

• cotitulaire
• titre
• Latin titulus

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h 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 j k l m n o Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
5. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
7. ^ a b c d e f g h Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ a b c d e f g h Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
9. ^ a b c Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)