vider

Pronunciation

• IPA: /vi.de/^[1]

Forms

vider^[1] Old French voidier (about 1120), vuidier (about 1130); vuider (about 1155) lasted into the 18th century;^[2][3] vider, found once in the 14th century, became the official spelling in 1762.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French vuidier, inherited from Vulgar Latin *vocitō, from *vocitus (“empty”) (see vide).^[4][2][5][1] Wiktionary connects these forms with Latin vacuus (“empty”).^[1]

Cognate with Italian votare, Old Occitan vojar and Catalan buidar.^[6][7] Littré gives Walloon vûdi.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Oxford Psalter (first half of the 12th century) has it figuratively, “to lay waste”: voidez desque al fundament “empty it to the foundations”, a sense lost in Middle French.^[4][2][7]

Semantic evolution

Vuidier les arçons, la selle “to be unhorsed” (about 1130–1160) is still in use.^[2][4] Wace has it for clearing a place of its occupants (about 1155), and, from the 12th century it meant “to leave (a place)”, as in vuidier la ville; the modern phrases vider les lieux (1690) and vider le plancher (1783) come from this.^[4][2] The reflexive se vider meant to lose much blood or to relieve oneself (about 1190–1200).^[2][4]

In law vuidier un dit (1313) meant to pronounce a judgement, whence vider une querelle “to settle a quarrel”.^[2][4] The concrete sense “to empty (a vessel) by pouring out its contents” is from 1280, and vider son cœur “to pour out one's heart” from about 1368.^[4] Huysmans uses it in 1879 for throwing someone out, the sense behind videur “bouncer”.^[4]

Timeline

• c. 1120 – Voidier “to lay waste”, in the Oxford Psalter.^[2][4]
• c. 1155 – “To clear (a place)”, in Wace.^[4]
• c. 1160 – Voidier selles “to be unhorsed”, in the Roman d'Eneas.^[4]
• 1280 – “To empty (a vessel)”.^[4]
• 1313 – Vuidier un dit “to pronounce judgement”.^[4]
• 1690 – Vider les lieux, in Furetière.^[4]
• 1762 – The Académie adopts the spelling vider.^[2][3]
• 1879 – “To throw (someone) out”, in Huysmans.^[4]

Meanings

Verb

1. To empty (a container) of its contents: vider ses poches, vider une bouteille, to drink it up.^[8][1]
2. To take out, pour out (the contents of a vessel).^[4]
3. To clean out (a fish, a chicken), gut.^[1]
4. To leave (a place): vider les lieux.^[4][2]
5. (familiar) To throw out, expel (someone); to fire.^[4][8]
6. (familiar) To exhaust, wear out: ce travail l'a vidé.^[8]
7. To settle (a quarrel, a question): vider une querelle.^[2][4]
8. Vider son sac: to get something off one's chest, vider les arçons, to be thrown from one's horse.^[8][1]

Word family

• dévider
• vidage
• vide-grenier
• vide-poches
• videur
• vidoir

Related words

• vidange
• vide
• Vulgar Latin *vocitus

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s 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. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
6. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
7. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert