Etymologically
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toujours

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /tu.ʒuʁ/[1]

Forms

toujours[1] Old French tuzjurz, tozjorz, tousjours; the Académie wrote tousjours in 1694 and 1718, toûjours in 1740 and toujours from 1762.[2][3]

Etymology

It is formed from French tout + jour, from the plural Old French “tuz jurz”, literally “all days”.[3][4][1][5] It replaced Old French sempre (“always”), from Latin semper, which early shifted to “at once” (still found in 1466), and the compound tousdis, formed with di (“day”), which survives in Picard and Walloon.[3][6] “Toujours” became the word of nearly the whole Gallo-Romance area.[6] Old French also said “toute jour”, treating “jour” as feminine like Latin “diēs”.[7]

Cognate with Catalan totjorn and Occitan totjorn.[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found about 1100 in the Chanson de Roland, meaning “without ceasing”: Il priera tuz jurs pur nos pechez “he will pray always for our sins”.[3][7]

Semantic evolution

A toz jorz mais “for ever” (about 1165) was rare and gave way to pour toujours (1668, La Fontaine).[3] In the 17th century the word developed an expletive use, “in any case, anyway” (1666, Molière), with the phrase toujours est-il que (1681, Bossuet), and the sense “still, even now” (1667, Racine).[3][8] Depuis toujours is recorded in 1936 (Aragon).[2]

Timeline

  • 881 – Old French sempre, the word toujours would replace, in the Eulalie.[3]
  • c. 1100 – Tuz jurz in the Chanson de Roland.[3]
  • c. 1165 – A toz jorz mais “for ever”, in Benoît de Sainte-Maure.[3]
  • 1666 – Expletive “anyway” in Molière's Le Médecin malgré lui.[3]
  • 1667 – “Still” in Racine's Andromaque.[3]
  • 1668 – Pour toujours in La Fontaine.[3]
  • 1681 – Toujours est-il que in Bossuet.[3]
  • 1762 – The Académie adopts the spelling toujours.[3]
  • 1936 – Depuis toujours in Aragon.[2]

Meanings

Adverb

  1. Always, at all times: Ces abus ont toujours existé.[9][10]
  2. Every time, without exception: Quand il vient, il passe toujours me voir.[9][10]
  3. Still, even now: Il est toujours malade, toujours pas, still not.[9][3]
  4. In any case, anyway: toujours est-il que…, the fact remains that.[3][9]
  5. Of an unlikely possibility: Tu peux toujours essayer.[9]
  6. Pour toujours: for ever.[3]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q 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
  4. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 3, 104a
  6. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  7. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  8. ^ Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
  9. ^ a b c d e Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
  10. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert