Etymology and origin of the French word vivace
vivace1 long-lived
Etymology tree of vivace1
From the same root · vivace1
Pronunciation
- /vi.vas/[1]
Forms
vivace (plural vivaces)[1]
Etymology
The word for “long-lived” is borrowed from Latin vīvāx (“long-lived, lively, vigorous”), recorded in French in 1469 according to the FEW.[2][3][4] The TLFi's first record is from 1496.[5][6] The Latin adjective is formed from vīvō (“to live”).[6][3][7] Bloch and Wartburg note that the noun vivacité, from vīvācitās, was taken only in its second sense of “liveliness”, so that the adjective and the noun do not match.[8]
Compare Old Occitan vivatz and Italian vivace.[9]
Earliest recorded meaning
The TLFi's earliest example (1496, in Jean de Vignay's Miroir historial, printed 1531) applies it to something abstract that lasts a long time: homme de vivace ancienneté.[5]
Semantic evolution
It was first used of a person built to live long, then from 1546 (Rabelais) for “vigorous, sprightly”, two senses that have disappeared.[6][5] Its use for a personified thing full of vitality, from 1588 (Montaigne: La cholique est souvent non moins vivace que nous), was felt as a metaphor and survives in literary style.[6][5][9] In botany it has qualified since 1718 a plant that lives more than two years.[6][5][10] About 1792 it began to be used of an opinion or feeling that holds out without weakening.[6][2] It is no longer said of animals (recorded in 1762) or of people, only of plants and abstractions, mostly in literary use, as in Mallarmé's line le vierge, le vivace et le bel aujourd'hui.[6]
Timeline
- 1469 – First record, according to the FEW.[2][3]
- 1496 – The TLFi's first example, of something lasting.[5][6]
- 1546 – Rabelais uses it of youth: lively, vigorous.[5][6]
- 1588 – Montaigne applies it to a personified illness.[6][2]
- 1611 – Cotgrave records it of a person built to live long.[5]
- 1718 – The Académie records it of plants.[5][2]
- c. 1792 – Used of a lasting feeling or opinion.[6][2]
- 1834 – The adverb vivacement is recorded in Balzac.[6]
Meanings
Adjective
- (of living things) hardy, able to resist what threatens health or life;[10][5] (rare) of people.[10][5]
- (botany) perennial, living more than two years: plante vivace.[10][9][7]
- (figurative) Lasting, hard to destroy, of a feeling, belief or memory: un préjugé vivace.[9][10][7]
Noun
Word family
- vivacement
vivace2 music
Etymology tree of vivace2
From the same root · vivace2
Pronunciation
- [vivatʃe][3]
Forms
Etymology
The musical term is borrowed from Italian vivace (“lively”), the Italian outcome of Latin vīvāx.[5][3][7] The TLFi dates it from 1765, in the Encyclopédie, and notes the Italian musical term in Brossard in 1705; the Grand Robert and the Petit Robert give 1788.[5][3][10] English has vivace from the 1680s.[11][5]
Timeline
- 1683 – English vivace is recorded in Purcell.[5]
- 1765 – First French record, in the Encyclopédie.[5]
- 1788 – The Grand Robert's date of first record.[3][10]
Meanings
Adjective
Noun
- (music) A passage or movement played in this tempo.[5]
Related words
Usage notes
The two words are pronounced differently: [vivas] for the first, [vivatʃe] for the musical term.[3][9]
References
- ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c d e f Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
- ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 14, 575a
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r 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
- ^ 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
- ^ a b c d e f Académie française (1992–2024), Dictionnaire de l'Académie française, 9th ed., Paris: Académie française / Fayard / Imprimerie nationale
- ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
- ^ a b c d e Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
- ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
Related etymologies
- liquider · also from Italian
- sentinelle · also from Italian
- pittoresque · also from Italian
- couillon · also from Italian
- brèche · also from Italian
- escadron · also from Italian
- canaille · also from Italian
- carnaval · also from Italian
Cite this entry
“Vivace.” Etymologically, 15 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/vivace. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.
Last edited on . ·