torture

Forms

torture f (plural tortures)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Late Latin tortūra (“a twisting, torment”) (4th century),^[2][3][4][1] a derivative of tortum, the supine of torqueō (“to twist”),^[2][5][6] the verb that gave tordre.^[4] Latin had already formed tortiō in the same sense, the source of tortionnaire.^[4]

Cognate with Italian tortura, Spanish tortura and Occitan tortura.^[7][8] English torture comes from the Old French word and directly from the Late Latin one.^[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found at the end of the 12th century in the Sermons of Saint Bernard, for unbearable physical or moral suffering;^[2][6] Rey also dates to about 1190 the moral sense “injustice, wrong”, and to about 1210 the sense “contortion, twisting”.^[4]

Semantic evolution

The descriptive sense “twisting, contortion” and the moral sense “injustice” were not kept.^[4] In the penal field the word came to mean a severe bodily punishment that could cause death (1459, mettre à la gehenne et torture). This led, in Montaigne (1580), to the modern sense of pain inflicted to force a confession, now the main one.^[2][4]

Figurative phrases followed: mettre quelqu'un à la torture “to put someone in an awkward fix” (1627) and mettre son esprit à la torture (1630).^[2][4] The sense of intolerable suffering, found in Old French, reappears in the 17th century (1631), with les tortures de la jalousie in 1745.^[4][2] Going back to the idea of twisting, Madame de Sévigné used it in 1676 for distorting the sense of a text.^[4] Torture was abolished in France by Louis XVI in 1780, as Littré notes.^[8]

Timeline

• c. 1190 – First recorded in the Sermons of Saint Bernard.^[2][4]
• c. 1210 – It means “contortion, twisting”.^[4]
• 1459 – It names a penal punishment in the memoirs of Jacques du Clercq.^[2]
• 1480 – The verb torturer is derived from it.^[7][4]
• 1580 – Montaigne uses it of violence used to extract a confession.^[2][4]
• 1627 – Charles Sorel writes mettre quelqu'un à la torture “to embarrass”.^[2]
• 1676 – Madame de Sévigné uses it for distorting a text.^[4]
• 1770 – Instruments de la torture is recorded in Raynal.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. Severe physical suffering inflicted on someone, especially to force a confession (formerly called la question): il a parlé sous la torture.^[10][11][12]
2. (historical) A severe judicial punishment that could lead to death.^[11][6]
3. Extreme physical or moral suffering, a torment: ces semaines d'attente furent une torture.^[12][2]
4. Mettre quelqu'un à la torture, être à la torture: to cause or feel keen distress or impatience.^[12][8]
5. Instrument de torture: a device for torturing, and jokingly any object that causes pain.^[11][10]

Word family

• torturer

Related words

• tordre
• tortionnaire
• Latin torqueō
• English torture

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 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. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 13/2, 115a
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
7. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
8. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
9. ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
10. ^ a b Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
11. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
12. ^ a b c Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)