vigueur

Forms

vigueur f (plural vigueurs)^[1] Old French vigur, vigor and vigour; the form vigueur is recorded from 1349.^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French vigur, borrowed from Latin vigor (“vital force, energy”).^{[2][4][5][1][6]} The ending was later remade with the suffix -eur.^[4] The Latin noun is from vigeō (“to be strong, to thrive”).^[5][7][4] Rey connects that verb with vigilō (whence veiller) and vegetus (whence végétal), and with Germanic words behind guetter.^[4] Cognate with Italian vigore, Occitan vigor and Spanish vigor.^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded as vigur in the Chanson de Roland (about 1100), meaning the strength and firmness of a person: Franc unt feru de cuer et de vigur, “the Franks struck with heart and vigour”.^[2][8]

Semantic evolution

The word came into French with the Latin sense of force, energy and firmness of character.^[4] Froissart, at the end of the 14th century, used it of the force or effect of letters and documents, in 1475 letters were said to be still en lur vigur, and in law (1493) it came to mean the legal force of a text in application, the source of en vigueur “in force, in use” (1611).^[2][4][3] By extension it was said of effective activity of the mind (1530) and of firmness in expression and style (1538).^[4] In 1767–68 Diderot used it in painting and drawing, and the plural vigueurs later named well-marked touches (1845).^[2][4] The etymological sense, of a plant's growth, is found from 1547.^[2][4]

Timeline

• c. 1100 – Vigur appears in the Chanson de Roland.^[2]
• late 12th century – The form vigour.^[4][3]
• 1349 – Guillaume de Machaut writes vigueur.^[2]
• 1475 – Used of letters still in force.^[2]
• 1547 – Used of the growth of plants.^[2][4]
• 1611 – Bertaut writes of laws en vigueur.^[2][4]
• 1767 – Diderot uses it of painting.^[4][3]

Meanings

Noun

1. Physical strength and energy of a healthy being in its prime, vigour; also of a plant's growth.^[9][2][1]
2. Free and effective activity, energy in acting: se défendre avec vigueur.^[9][8]
3. Force and firmness of thought or expression, as of a style.^[4][8]
4. (painting) Boldness of colour or drawing.^[8][2]
5. En vigueur: in force, in use, of a law or custom.^[2][8][4]

Word family

• vigoureux
• vigoureusement

Related words

• veiller
• végétal
• Latin vigor
• English vigour

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 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 Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 14, 446a
7. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ a b c d e f Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
9. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert