université

Forms

université f (plural universités)^[1] Old French univerciteit, universitei and universitet.^[2][1] Anglo-Norman universitee, universeté.^[3]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin ūniversitās (“the whole, totality, corporation”), a derivative of ūniversus (“whole, entire”), itself from ūnus (“one”).^[2][4][5] In classical Latin the word meant the whole of something, or the universe; in the language of law it came to mean a body, company or corporation, and in Medieval Latin any community, such as the chapter of an abbey, the inhabitants of a town or a guild of craftsmen.^[2][6] From this last use came universitas magistrorum (“the corporation of the masters”) (1208–1209, in a letter of Innocent III), then universitas magistrorum et scolarium (1215) and, by 1219, the bare noun for the masters and students of Paris.^[2] Bloch and Wartburg date the French word to 1218,^[6] the TLFi to 1214.^[2] Wiktionary gives the Old French form universitei as the intermediate stage.^[1]

Cognate with Occitan universitat, Spanish universidad and Italian università.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in 1214, in a Metz charter, as univerciteit in the sense “community, corporation”: the master aldermen and toute li univerciteit de lai citeit de Més, “the whole community of the city of Metz”.^[2]

Semantic evolution

In the 13th century the word kept the Latin senses of a professional corporation and of a town community, the latter linked to the communal movement;^[4] in Old Occitan and Medieval Latin it also named the Jewish community of a town.^[4] The sense “totality, the whole” is found in the 13th century,^[2] and université was used for the whole of creation in 1578, like univers.^[4]

The scholastic sense came from the Medieval Latin usage: in 1246 the word named the corporation of masters and students,^[2][4] and about 1255 Rutebeuf uses it of the teaching institution itself, the church-founded schools of higher learning.^[2][4] By metonymy it named, from 1694, the quarter of Paris where the medieval university stood, also called the Latin Quarter.^[4] The decrees of 1806 and 1808 created the Université impériale, the body of all the masters of public education in France under a Grand Master;^[2][6][4] with a capital, l’Université still means that body.^[8] The modern sense of an institution of higher education spread from the middle of the 19th century;^[4] toward the end of the century, after Liard's reform, France had 17 universities grouping faculties.^[6] Université populaire (1898–1899) named associations teaching adults,^[4][2] and université du troisième âge is recorded in 1978.^[2]

Timeline

• 1208–1209 – Medieval Latin universitas magistrorum names the corporation of the Paris masters.^[2]
• 1214 – Univerciteit “community” appears in a Metz charter.^[2]
• 1246 – It names the corporation of masters and students.^[2][4]
• c. 1255 – Rutebeuf uses it for the teaching institution.^[2]
• 1269–1278 – The Roman de la Rose speaks of l’acort de l’Université.^[2][7]
• 1578 – It is used for the whole of creation.^[4]
• 1694 – It names the university quarter of Paris.^[4]
• 1806 – A decree creates the Université impériale.^[2]
• 1857 – Edmond About uses it for an establishment of higher education.^[4]
• 1899 – First record of universités populaires.^[2]
• 1978 – Université du troisième âge is recorded.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. (history) In the Middle Ages, a church institution with royal and papal privileges, in charge of secondary and higher teaching.^[9][2]
2. A university, a public establishment of higher education, made up of several faculties: elle s’est inscrite à l’université de Lyon.^[10][9]
3. The buildings of a university.^[9]
4. L’Université: the body of the teachers of public education at all levels in France.^[10][8]
5. Université d’été: summer teaching at a university, and also a training or discussion session held by a political party in summer.^[10]
6. Université populaire: an association giving courses to adults.^[4][2]

Word family

• universitaire

Related words

• univers
• universel
• universalité
• Latin ūniversitās

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 o p q r s t u v 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. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 14, 52a
6. ^ a b c d Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
7. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ a b c Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
10. ^ a b c Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)