ultimatum

Forms

ultimatum m (plural ultimatums or ultimata)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Medieval Latin ultimatum, a word of diplomatic usage derived from Latin ultimus (“last”) on the model of imperātum (“command”).^[2][3][4] Rey and the Grand Robert give the Medieval Latin source as ultimatus, which Du Cange notes was used in the neuter in the German chancelleries of the 15th century, in a phrase meaning “final decision”.^[5][6] Littré explained it as the passive participle of a Latin verb meaning “to come to the end”, formed from the same adjective.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded in 1740, in the Journal of the Marquis d'Argenson, meaning “final word, irrevocable decision”.^[2][5]

Semantic evolution

From the end of the 18th century the word came to mean a demand declared irrevocable, which must be met within a set time,^[2][5] and in the 19th century it was used especially between states, as the last conditions whose refusal leads to a break in relations and usually to war.^[5][2] The broader sense of any firm, final resolution, as of a general or a businessman, is recorded by Littré.^[7] The variant ultimat (1803) has gone out of use; the rare literary adjective ultimatif dates from 1923.^[5]

Timeline

• 1740 – D'Argenson uses it for an irrevocable decision.^[2][3]
• 1790 – Le Moniteur uses it for a demand to be met within a set time.^[2]
• 1792 – The date the FEW, Rey and the Grand Robert give for the sense “demand”.^[5][6][4]
• 1803 – The variant ultimat is recorded.^[5]
• 1923 – The adjective ultimatif appears.^[5]

Meanings

Noun

1. (diplomacy) The final conditions one state presents to another, with a summons to accept them within a set time, on pain of a break in relations or of war.^[8][2][4]
2. (by extension) A peremptory demand.^[8][2]

Word family

• ultimatif

Related words

• ultime
• Latin ultimus

Usage notes

The plural is ultimatums, or occasionally the Latin ultimata.^[1][8]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h 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 Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
4. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
5. ^ a b c d e f g h Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert