vibrer

Forms

vibrer^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin vibrō (“to brandish, to shake, to vibrate”), borrowed twice: first in the early 16th century in the transitive sense “to brandish”, then in the 18th century in the intransitive sense “to vibrate”.^[2][3][4][5] The Latin verb meant “to shake rapidly, brandish, swing” and also “to quiver, glitter”, and was often said of the voice.^[3][2]

Rey traces the Latin verb to an Indo-European base Proto-Indo-European *weib-, a variant of *weip-, also seen in Old Norse veifa (“to be in vibrating motion”) and in the English word whip.^[3] Cognate with Italian vibrare, Spanish vibrar and Portuguese vibrar.^[6] Its by-form Vulgar Latin *virō gave virer.^[6][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in Julien Fossetier's Chronique margaritique (1508–1517), in the Latin sense “to brandish, to hurl”, an isolated use.^[2][8][3]

Semantic evolution

The sense “to brandish” died out in the classical period.^[3] The verb was taken up again in the 18th century, after the sense that vibration had acquired in 17th-century physics, as “to produce vibrations, to be in vibration” (Trévoux, 1752); this sense spread into general use only at the beginning of the 19th century.^[3][2][9]

Figuratively it was used of a person who reacts strongly to an emotion: Diderot wrote of a fibre qui ne vibre pas (1779) and Chateaubriand of making vibrer toutes les cordes du genre humain (1797).^[2][3] Faire vibrer la corde sensible “to play on the feelings” goes back to faire vibrer les cordes sensibles de l'âme, recorded by Littré in 1872.^[8][10] From 1846 (Balzac) it is said of a voice trembling with emotion.^[3][8]

In the 20th century a transitive technical use was added, “to treat by vibration”, as in béton vibré (1935).^[2][3]

Timeline

• 1508–1517 – Julien Fossetier uses it transitively for “to brandish”.^[2]
• 1752 – The Trévoux dictionary records “to produce vibrations”.^[2][4][9]
• 1761 – Faire vibrer is used of the vocal cords.^[2]
• 1779 – Diderot uses it metaphorically in Le Neveu de Rameau.^[2]
• 1797 – Chateaubriand uses it of the feelings of mankind.^[2][3]
• 1846 – Balzac uses it of a voice charged with emotion.^[3][8]
• 1935 – Béton vibré “vibrated concrete” is recorded.^[2]

Meanings

Verb

1. (intransitive) To vibrate; to move back and forth very rapidly about a position of rest: la vitre vibrait au passage du camion.^[7][11][12]
2. (of the voice) To quaver or ring with intense emotion.^[7][11]
3. (figurative) To be deeply moved or stirred;^[11][7][3] faire vibrer to stir (an audience, the heart): faire vibrer la corde sensible.^[11][7][3]
4. (transitive, technical) To treat (concrete and the like) by vibration.^[11][2]

Word family

• vibreur
• vibratile
• vibratoire
• vibrion
• vibrant
• vibrement

Related words

• vibration
• virer
• Latin vibrō

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m 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 l m Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 14, 401b
6. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
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 c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
9. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
10. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
11. ^ a b c d e Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
12. ^ Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)