pris

Forms

pris m (oblique plural pris; nominative singular pris)^[1]

• preis, priz, pries, prys, prez, preix^[2][3]

The FEW records Poitevin prez in the 13th century, preix in Lorraine in 1285 and preis in Franche-Comté.^[3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin pretium (“price, value, reward”).^[3][4][5][6] The DÉRom reconstructs a neuter Proto-Romance noun with cognates in every branch except Vegliote, Friulian and Spanish,^[7] among them Italian prezzo and Old Occitan pretz.^[5][3]

The Latin word goes back to Proto-Italic *preti-o- (“exchange value”), which Walde–Hofmann and Pokorny derive, as de Vaan reports, from a preposition Proto-Indo-European *preti (“against”), beside Ancient Greek προτί (protí) "towards".^[8] De Vaan sees no viable alternative,^[8] while the DHLF prefers a link with interpres (“intermediary”), through the idea of trade and exchange.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is the Vie de saint Alexis, which the DEAF dates to about 1090 and the TLFi to about 1050.^[9][10] There, in line 78, pris is the fare to be paid for a crossing by boat.^[10][3][11]

Semantic evolution

Beside the sum to be paid, the word soon meant the commercial value of a thing, as in Wace's Roman de Rou (1160–1174),^[10][6] and high value in general: de pris "of value" appears in the Couronnement de Louis of about 1135, and metre en pris "to value" about 1200.^[10] Tobler–Lommatzsch lists the moral senses "fame, praise", "first place, contest" and even "self-conceit".^[12][13][14] From Chrétien de Troyes on, pris is also the reward given to the one who does best in a contest or a piece of work.^[3]

The spelling prix spread in the 15th and 16th centuries,^[6][3] and the modern French prix keeps both "price" and "prize".^[10]

Timeline

• c. 1090 – pris, the fare for a crossing by boat, in the Vie de saint Alexis (about 1050 by the TLFi's dating).^[9][11][10]
• c. 1135 – de pris "of value" in the Couronnement de Louis.^[10]
• first half of the 12th century – the first Anglo-Norman record cited by the AND.^[2]
• 1160–1174 – the commercial value of a thing, in Wace's Roman de Rou.^[10]
• c. 1200 – metre en pris "to value" in Simon de Freine's Roman de philosophie.^[10]
• 15th century – the spelling prix.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. price, payment; the sum to be paid for something.^[15][2]
2. worth, high value.^[16][2]
3. esteem, renown, praise.^[12][2][1]
4. a prize, the reward for the one who does best; first place.^[3][13]
5. the flower, the most esteemed one of a group.^[2]
6. de pris: excellent, valuable.^[14][10]
7. au pris de: compared with.^[14]

Anglo-Norman

The AND heads the word pris 1, first cites it from the first half of the 12th century, and records the spellings preis, price, pries, priese, prisse, priz, prys and pryse.^[2] Its insular senses include a surety, money pledged on someone's behalf, and the elite or flower of a group.^[2] Middle English borrowed it as prīs "value, price",^[17] the source of English price, first recorded about 1200, and of prize, a respelling of Middle English prise.^[18]

Word family

• prisier

Descendants

• French prix^[1]
• Norman prix^[1]
• Middle Dutch prijs (borrowed; → Dutch prijs)^[1]
• Middle English price (borrowed; → English price, Scots price)^[1]
• Middle High German prīs (borrowed; → German Preis)^[1]
• Middle Low German pris (borrowed)^[1]
• Old Breton pris (borrowed)^[1]

Usage notes

Tobler–Lommatzsch heads the word pris 1, the DEAF pris and the AND pris 1, while the DMF and the TLFi use the modern prix.^{[15][9][2][10]} The same spelling is the past participle of prendre "to take", which belongs to that verb's entry.^[1][19]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–), p. s.v. pris
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 9:370
4. ^ Gamillscheg, Ernst (1966–1969), Etymologisches Wörterbuch der französischen Sprache, 2nd, fully revised ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 772
5. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France, p. 552
6. ^ a b c d Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert, p. s.v. prix
7. ^ Buchi, Éva; Schweickard, Wolfgang, eds. (2008–), Dictionnaire Étymologique Roman (DÉRom), Nancy: ATILF, http://www.atilf.fr/DERom
8. ^ a b de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill, p. s.v. pretium
9. ^ a b c Baldinger, Kurt; Möhren, Frankwalt; Städtler, Thomas, eds. (1971–2021), Dictionnaire étymologique de l'ancien français (DEAF), Heidelberg: Heidelberger Akademie der Wissenschaften; DEAFél / DEAFpré, deaf-server.adw.uni-heidelberg.de, p. s.v. pris
10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k 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
11. ^ a b Rainsford, Thomas (2025), Old Gallo-Romance Corpus, github (the earliest Gallo-Romance texts, lemmatised; texts by siglum), p. AlexisZ
12. ^ a b Tobler, Adolf; Lommatzsch, Erhard (1925–2002), Altfranzösisches Wörterbuch, 11 vols., Berlin / Wiesbaden / Stuttgart: Weidmann / Steiner, p. 7:1879
13. ^ a b Tobler, Adolf; Lommatzsch, Erhard (1925–2002), Altfranzösisches Wörterbuch, 11 vols., Berlin / Wiesbaden / Stuttgart: Weidmann / Steiner, p. 7:1880
14. ^ a b c Tobler, Adolf; Lommatzsch, Erhard (1925–2002), Altfranzösisches Wörterbuch, 11 vols., Berlin / Wiesbaden / Stuttgart: Weidmann / Steiner, p. 7:1881
15. ^ a b Tobler, Adolf; Lommatzsch, Erhard (1925–2002), Altfranzösisches Wörterbuch, 11 vols., Berlin / Wiesbaden / Stuttgart: Weidmann / Steiner, p. 7:1877
16. ^ Tobler, Adolf; Lommatzsch, Erhard (1925–2002), Altfranzösisches Wörterbuch, 11 vols., Berlin / Wiesbaden / Stuttgart: Weidmann / Steiner, p. 7:1878
17. ^ Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
18. ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
19. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 9:343