vergogne

Forms

vergogne f (plural vergognes)^[1] Old French vergoigne, verguigne, vergoingne and vergonde;^[2][3] vergogne is the form from 1553.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French vergoigne, inherited from Latin verēcundia (“respectful fear, reserve, modesty”), which in imperial Latin also meant shame at something blameworthy.^[3][4][2] Wiktionary gives the Vulgar Latin form as *verecunnia.^[1] The Latin noun is formed on the adjective verēcundus (“respectful, reserved”), from the verb vereor (“to fear, to revere”).^[2][3] Rey connects the verb with a root Proto-Indo-European *swer- “to pay attention”, seen also in Ancient Greek ὁράω (horáō, “to see”) and in the Germanic base of garder.^[2] The medieval vergonde was remade on the Latin word.^[5]

Cognate with Italian vergogna, Spanish vergüenza, Catalan vergonya, Portuguese vergonha and Old Occitan vergonha.^[5][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the Chanson de Roland (about 1100) vergoigne is shame: Oliver says vergoigne sereit grant “it would be a great shame”.^[3][6]

Semantic evolution

The word was in ordinary use until the 17th century for a shameful act (1080) and for the feeling of shame (about 1175); by the classical period it was already felt to be old, and honte replaced it except in regional use.^[2][5] It was also said of the private parts (about 1285).^[2] From the 16th century the shame it named was chiefly sexual, and it came to mean decency or modesty (1553), also in the latinized form vérécondie (1580).^[2]

Today it lives mainly in the phrase sans vergogne “shamelessly, without scruple”, first found in Montaigne (1588).^[3][2][7] In the South-East of France it is still a regional word for shame or embarrassment.^[3]

Timeline

• c. 1100 – Vergoigne “shame” appears in the Chanson de Roland.^[3]
• c. 1175 – Benoît de Sainte-Maure has the derivative vergoignos.^[3]
• c. 1285 – It is used of the private parts.^[2]
• 1553 – The spelling vergogne and the sense “modesty” appear.^[3][2]
• 1588 – Montaigne writes sans vergongne.^[3][2]

Meanings

Noun

1. (dated or literary) Modesty, reserve, sense of decency.^[3][1]
2. (archaic, regional) Shame, embarrassment.^[7][3]
3. Sans vergogne: shamelessly, without scruple: il ment sans vergogne.^[7][3]

Word family

• dévergondé
• vergogneux

Related words

• dévergonder
• vérécondie
• Latin verēcundia

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 Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n 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
4. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 14, 280b
5. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
6. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
7. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert