transfusion

Forms

transfusion f (plural transfusions)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin trānsfūsiō (“a pouring from one vessel into another”), which in Latin also meant, figuratively, a mixture or a transfer.^[2][3][4][1] The Latin noun is derived from trānsfundō (“to pour from one vessel into another”), formed of trāns- and fundō (“to pour”).^[3][5] The verb fondre comes from the same Latin verb.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded in 1307, in a royal register, in the legal sense of a transfer or a change made to a deed.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

In 1374 it meant the passing of something from one element into another, and in Calvin (1541) the pouring of a liquid from one vessel into another, a concrete sense that did not last.^[2][3][5] In the 17th century it became a medical term for the passing of blood into another body: blood, often animal blood, was transfused from about 1665, but a sentence of the Châtelet banned the practice in 1668.^[4][3][6] It was taken up again in the 19th century with human blood, and the modern sense dates from about 1865.^[3][6]

The figurative sense “fusion, assimilation” (1760, Voltaire) has never been common.^[2][3] The adjective transfusionnel appeared in the mid-20th century, and the verb transfuser (1668) was formed on the old adjective transfus “transfused”, from the Latin participle.^[3][4]

Timeline

• 1307 – First record, in the sense “transfer, change to a deed”.^[2][3]
• 1374 – Used for the passing of something from one element into another.^[2]
• 1541 – Calvin uses it for pouring wine from one vessel into a bottle.^[2][5]
• 1667 – The Journal des savants reports a transfusion of dog's blood.^[2][7]
• 1668 – Transfusion is banned by a sentence of the Châtelet.^[3][6]
• 1760 – Voltaire uses it for the merging of two scenes.^[2][3]
• c. 1865 – Transfusion with human blood gives the modern sense.^[3][6]
• c. 1950 – Centre de transfusion sanguine is recorded.^[5]

Meanings

Noun

1. (medicine) The injection of blood, or of a blood component, from a donor into a patient's vein: transfusion sanguine, recevoir une transfusion après l'opération.^[6][2][8]
2. (historical) The 17th-century operation of passing animal blood into a patient's vein.^[6]
3. (obsolete) The pouring of a liquid from one vessel into another, decanting.^[2][5]
4. (figurative, rare) A merging or assimilation.^[3][9]

Word family

• transfusionnel

Related words

• transfuser
• fondre
• Latin trānsfūsiō

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 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 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. ^ a b c d e Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
6. ^ a b c d e f Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
8. ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
9. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette