vertige

Forms

vertige m (plural vertiges)^[1] Earlier Middle French vertigine (about 1363, Chauliac) and vertigo (1478).^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin vertīgō (“whirling, turning, dizziness”), first as vertigine (about 1363), from the oblique stem, remade in its present form in 1611.^[5][3][2] The Latin noun is derived from vertō (“to turn, overturn, change”).^[5][3][6][7] The unchanged Latin form vertigo was also used in French, from 1478.^[3][2]

Old French had other words for the condition: vertim (“epilepsy”) (1213), vertun (13th century) and vertin (“dizziness”) (about 1250), which also meant “whim, fancy” (1599) into the 17th century.^[3] Cognate with Old Occitan vertige and Italian vertigine.^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

As vertigine it appears in Chauliac (about 1363) for dizziness.^[2][3] In the form vertige it is first recorded by Cotgrave in 1611, for a passing giddiness in which things seem to turn around one.^[5][6]

Semantic evolution

The word kept the Latin medical sense, the illusion that oneself or one's surroundings are turning.^[3][4] Bossuet's esprit de vertige (1681) was a passing madness sent by God, while after 1688 (Miège) vertige meant a disturbance of the mind, the confusion of someone in a situation beyond their control.^[5][3][2]

About 1770, in Rousseau's Confessions, it was used for the anguished sense of falling felt by some people above a drop,^[5][3][2] now its commonest sense, which is why the dizziness of the first sense is usually spoken of in the plural, avoir des vertiges.^[3][4] From this comes à donner le vertige “very high, very impressive”.^[3][9]

Timeline

• c. 1363 – Vertigine appears in Chauliac.^[2]
• 1478 – The Latin form vertigo is used.^[3][2]
• 1611 – Cotgrave records vertige.^[5][6]
• 1681 – Bossuet writes esprit de vertige.^[5]
• 1688 – Miège records it for a disturbance of the mind.^[5][2]
• c. 1770 – Rousseau uses it for the fear of falling from a height.^[3][2]

Meanings

Noun

1. Dizziness, vertigo: the feeling that one's surroundings or oneself are spinning: avoir des vertiges.^[4][9]
2. Fear of falling when above a drop: elle a le vertige en haut des échelles.^[4][9]
3. À donner le vertige: very high, staggering.^[9][3]
4. (figurative) A disturbance of the mind, intoxication: le vertige du pouvoir.^[9][5]

Related words

• vertigineux
• vertigo
• Latin vertīgō

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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 Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
7. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 14, 327a
8. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
9. ^ a b c d e Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)