toxique

Forms

toxique (plural toxiques)^[1] Old French toxiche (Wace), toscique (Chrétien de Troyes), tosique and tossique; the learned spelling toxique is found from 1213.^[2][3][4]

Etymology

The noun is borrowed from Latin toxicum (“poison for arrows, poison”), which is from Ancient Greek τοξικόν (toxikón), short for a phrase meaning poison for smearing on arrows, the neuter of τοξικός (toxikós, “of the bow, of arrows”), from τόξον (tóxon, “bow”).^[2][3][5][1] The first Old French forms were altered ones, and the modern spelling is a learned refashioning after the Latin.^[3] The adjective (1583) is borrowed from Latin toxicus (“poisonous”), a medical Latin word.^[2][1]

Rey thinks the Greek word for the bow was probably borrowed from Iranian, perhaps from the Scythians, famous as archers, and compares the Scythian personal names Toxaris and Taxakis.^[3] The Latin word also lived on in popular forms such as Italian tossico, Old Occitan tueisec and Aromanian toapsec.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Wace has toxiche in the Roman de Rou (1160–1174) as a noun meaning “poison”.^[2]

Semantic evolution

Taken in the general sense “poison”, the noun was rare before the 16th century.^[3][5] The adjective “poisonous” appears in 1583 in Du Monin's Uranologie but is seldom found before 1845, when Bescherelle records it; it then became common.^[2][3][7] Proust used it of what is caused by a poison in the body.^[7] Today it is also used figuratively of what does harm in an insidious way.^[8][2]

The derivatives and compounds date from after 1800: toxicologie (1803), toxicomane (1913), toxicomanie (late 19th century) and toxicité (1872).^[3][5]

Timeline

• 1160–1174 – Toxiche in Wace's Roman de Rou.^[2]
• c. 1165 – Toscique in Guillaume d'Angleterre.^[2]
• 1213 – The spelling toxique in the Faits des Romains.^[2][3]
• c. 1223 – Tossique in Gautier de Coinci.^[2]
• 1583 – First use as an adjective, “poisonous”.^[2][7]
• 1803 – The compound toxicologie.^[3][5]
• 1845 – Bescherelle records the adjective again.^[2][7]
• 1872 – The derivative toxicité.^[5]

Meanings

Noun

1. (chemistry, medicine) A poison, any substance that harms a living organism.^[9][2][10]

Adjective

1. Toxic, acting as a poison: gaz toxiques, une plante toxique.^[9][8]
2. (medicine) Caused by a poison in the body.^[7]
3. (figurative) Harmful in an insidious way: une relation toxique.^[8][2]

Word family

• toxicité
• toxicomanie
• toxine

Related words

• intoxiquer
• toxicologie
• toxicomane
• Latin toxicum
• Ancient Greek τόξον (tóxon)

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b c d e Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
6. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
7. ^ a b c d e Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
8. ^ a b c Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
9. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
10. ^ Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)