tyran

Forms

tyran m (plural tyrans, feminine tyranne or tyrane)^[1] Old French tiranz (10th century), tiran (early 13th century) and tirant.^[2][3] The spelling with ⟨y⟩ is found from about 1380.^[4][3] A feminine tyranne is recorded from 1573 but is very rare.^[5]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin tyrannus (“sovereign, despot, usurper”),^[2][5][6] which is from Ancient Greek τύραννος (túrannos, “absolute master”).^[2][7][5] The oldest form, tiranz, was replaced in the early 13th century by a learned remodelling, tiran, closer to the Latin.^[5] Littré notes that Old French also wrote it tirant, as if it were a present participle, and that this spelling passed into the English word tyrant.^[8][9]

In Greek the word first named a master whose power no law limited, said of Zeus, then one who had seized power, as opposed to a king; it did not at first imply cruelty.^[5][7] Rey calls the Greek word a substrate word or a borrowing from Asia Minor; a link with Etruscan turan (“Venus”) was proposed and then given up, and Hittite tarwana has also been compared.^[5]

Cognate with Old Occitan tiran, Catalan tirà, Spanish tirano and Italian tiranno.^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

It first appears as tiranz in the Vie de saint Léger (second half of the 10th century), of a despotic and cruel ruler.^[2][7] Rey explains that the word came into French with the pejorative value of a cruel, violent man that Christian texts of the 5th and 6th centuries had given it, applying it to the Antichrist.^[5]

Semantic evolution

It became a political term in 1155, for one who holds supreme power and uses it absolutely;^[5][2] Oresme (1370s) used it of a ruler who has usurped sovereign power and wields it arbitrarily.^[5][2] In Old French it could also mean a torturer or executioner, a sense since lost.^[5][9]

From 1553 it was extended to anyone who abuses his authority, hence tyran domestique (1803). From 1625 it was also said of a feeling or a habit that rules a person;^[5][3] Rey thinks this use follows the older figurative sense of tyrannie.^[5][3] The Greek historical sense, a leader who took power in a city by force, is recorded from 1690.^[5][3] In 1778 Buffon used it for a flycatcher, named for its aggressive behaviour.^[2][5] In the theatre it has been used for the role of a tyrant and for the actor who plays it.^[10]

Timeline

• c. 980 – Tiranz appears in the Vie de saint Léger.^[2][7]
• 1155 – Used as a political term.^[5]
• Early 13th century – The form tiran is found in the Chastoiement.^[2][5]
• 1370 – Oresme uses it of a usurper of sovereign power.^[5][2]
• c. 1380 – The spelling tyran is recorded.^[3][4]
• 1553 – Extended to a person who abuses authority.^[5][3]
• 1625 – Said of a feeling or habit that rules over someone.^[5]
• 1690 – Furetière records the Greek historical sense.^[3][5]
• 1778 – Buffon names a flycatcher tyran.^[2]
• 1803 – Tyran domestique is recorded.^[5]

Meanings

Noun

1. (history) In ancient Greece, a ruler who had seized absolute power by force.^[11][12][13]
2. A ruler who exercises supreme power in an absolute, oppressive and cruel way; a despot, a dictator.^[11][12]
3. (figurative) A person who abuses authority over others: tyran domestique, a household tyrant.^[13][12][5]
4. (figurative, literary) Something that holds sway over people, such as a passion or custom.^[3][8]
5. A tyrant flycatcher, a small American bird.^[13][12][2]

Word family

• tyranneau
• tyrannie
• tyranniser

Related words

• tyrannique
• Latin tyrannus
• Ancient Greek τύραννος (túrannos)
• English tyrant

References

1. ^ a b 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. ^ a b c d e f g h i Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
4. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 13/2, 463a
7. ^ a b c d 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. ^ a b Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
10. ^ Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
11. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
12. ^ a b c d Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
13. ^ a b c Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)