verve

Forms

verve f (plural verves)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *verva, a variant of verba (“words”), the plural of Latin verbum (“word”) taken as a feminine singular.^[2][3][4][5] The sources give this origin as probable.^[2][4] Bloch and Wartburg explain the /v/ by the unsteady pronunciation of Latin ⟨b⟩ in late antiquity, and assume that the word was taken in the sense “whimsical words”.^[4] It is a doublet of verbe.^[1]

Littré derived it instead from Latin verva “a carved ram's head”, from vervex (“ram”), comparing caprice beside capra (“goat”).^[6] Meyer-Lübke notes Diez's derivation from the word for “ram”, but lists the French word under the Latin for “word”.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

It first appears in Chrétien de Troyes' Cligès (1176) in the sense “saying, proverb”.^[2][8]

Semantic evolution

Old French gave it several senses tied to the general idea of speech: “proverb”, then the report delivered by a messenger (1205), “talk, discourse” (1225–30), a thing to say (1266) and, in the 13th century, a way of doing something.^[3][2] Old French also used it for inspiration.^[3][8]

From about 1450 it meant a whim or fit of folly, as in Maistre Pierre Pathelin, a sense now lost.^[2][3] In 1608 Mathurin Régnier used it for the warmth of imagination that drives a writer, the start of the modern sense.^[2][3] The phrase écrire de verve (1767) has gone out of use, while être en verve “to show one's wit” lives on.^[3] The sense “fire, liveliness” (about 1790) is now dated.^[3] Since 1846 the word has also named the brilliance of a speaker.^[2]

English borrowed it in the 1690s for a special talent in writing; the sense “mental vigour” is recorded by 1803.^[9]

Timeline

• 1176 – Chrétien de Troyes uses it for “proverb, saying” in Cligès.^[2]
• 1205 – It names the report of a messenger.^[3]
• 1225–30 – Guillaume de Lorris uses it for “talk, discourse”.^[2]
• 1266 – Rutebeuf uses it for “an idea, something to say”.^[2]
• 1450–65 – Maistre Pierre Pathelin uses it for “folly, whim”.^[2]
• 1608 – Mathurin Régnier uses it for the warmth of creative imagination.^[2][3]
• 1690s – English borrows it as verve.^[9]
• 1767 – Écrire de verve is recorded.^[3]
• 1791 – Mirabeau writes of la verve du patriotisme.^[2]
• 1846 – Proudhon uses it for brilliance in speech.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. (dated) Lively inspiration, creative fancy.^[10][2]
2. (dated) Fire, vivacity.^[10]
3. Wit and imagination in speech or writing; brio, eloquence: l'avocat plaida avec beaucoup de verve.^[10][8][1]
4. Être en verve: to be at one's wittiest, in brilliant form.^[10][3]
5. (obsolete) A whim, a caprice.^[6][2]

Word family

• verveux

Related words

• verbe
• Latin verbum
• English verve

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 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. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
5. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
7. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
8. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
9. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
10. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert