Etymologically
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vêtir

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Pronunciation

Forms

vêtir[1] Old French vestir, a spelling still found in the 18th century;[2][3] Monet records vêtir in 1636.[3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French vestir, inherited from Latin vestiō (“to clothe; to cover, adorn”), from vestis (“garment, clothing”).[4][2][5][6] The Petit Robert relates the Latin noun to the root of induō (“to put on”) and exuō (“to take off”), and to English wear.[7]

Cognate with Italian vestire, Occitan vestir, Catalan vestir, Spanish vestir and Portuguese vestir.[7][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found about 950 in the Jonas fragment of Valenciennes, meaning “to put on (a garment)”: vestirent haires, “they put on hair shirts”.[4][8] At the end of the 10th century the Passion of Clermont uses it for clothing someone: de purpure donc lo vestirent, “then they clothed him in purple”.[4][3]

Semantic evolution

The reflexive se vêtir appears about 1145 in Wace, and is now the more usual use of the verb, though habiller is more common.[4][2] About 1210 it also took the sense “to provide (someone) with clothes”, still alive in vêtir ceux qui sont nus.[4][2]

Old and classical French had many senses that later passed to revêtir.[2] In the Chanson de Roland it means “to put (someone) in possession (of a fief)”, a feudal use still found in the 18th century, and être vêtu d'une charge was to hold an office (1690).[2][8] It also meant to take on a role (about 1265, still in Molière), to take the religious habit (about 1340) and to adorn (1373).[2] In 1680 it was used of fitting sails to the arms of a windmill.[2]

Timeline

  • c. 950 – “To put on”, in the Jonas fragment.[4]
  • Late 10th century – “To clothe”, in the Clermont Passion.[4]
  • c. 1080 – The feudal sense “to invest with”, in the Chanson de Roland.[2]
  • c. 1145 – Se vestir, in Wace.[4]
  • c. 1210 – “To provide with clothes”, in Guillaume le Clerc.[4]
  • 1636 – Monet records the spelling vêtir.[3]
  • 1680 – Used of the sails of a windmill.[2]

Meanings

Verb

  1. (literary) To dress, put clothes on someone: vêtir un nourrisson.[7][4]
  2. To provide someone with clothing: vêtir les pauvres.[3][4]
  3. (literary) To put on a garment.[7][3]
  4. Se vêtir: to get dressed: se vêtir chaudement.[7][1]

Word family

Usage notes

The past participle vêtu is used as an adjective, as in court vêtu “in short clothes”.[2]

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 Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  3. ^ a b c d e f Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  4. ^ 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
  5. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 14, 351b
  7. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  8. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette