ultra-royaliste

Forms

ultra-royaliste (plural ultra-royalistes)^[1] Also written ultraroyaliste.^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is a compound from French ultra- + royaliste.^[5][6][2][7] The prefix, from Latin ultrā (“beyond”), expresses excess, as in ultra-révolutionnaire, recorded in 1793.^[5] The second element (1589) is from French royal, with the suffix -iste.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Grand Robert and the GLLF date it to 1798, from the Académie's dictionary.^[6][2] The TLFi's first record is the noun in Madame de Staël's Considérations sur la Révolution française (1817), and the adjective in Chateaubriand's polemical writings (1818–1827).^[5]

Semantic evolution

It names a fierce partisan of royalty and of absolute monarchy by divine right;^[5][2] under the Restoration it was applied especially to the extreme royalists who wanted a return to the Ancien Régime, a sense the GLLF dates to Chateaubriand in 1816.^[2][5] In that sense it was shortened to ultra.^[5][3] Littré defines it as a name for partisans of absolute power and abettors of despotism.^[8] Larousse recorded the adjective use, “holding extreme monarchist views”, in 1876.^[2]

Timeline

• 1798 – Recorded by the Académie.^[2][6]
• 1816 – Used by Chateaubriand of the Restoration's extreme royalists.^[2]
• 1817 – The noun in Madame de Staël.^[5]
• 1818–1827 – The adjective in Chateaubriand's polemical writings.^[5]
• 1876 – Larousse records the adjective.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A partisan of absolute monarchy by divine right.^[5][8][2]
2. (history) Under the Restoration, an extreme royalist who wanted a return to the Ancien Régime; an ultra.^[5][3][4]

Adjective

1. Holding or expressing extreme royalist views: des idées ultra-royalistes.^[2][5]

Related words

• ultra
• royaliste
• royal

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
3. ^ a b c Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
4. ^ a b Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
5. ^ 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
6. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 10, 203a
8. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette