sphère French · revision 15838

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1150, Roman de Thèbes|origins=grc σφαῖρα}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /sfɛʁ/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''sphère''' ''f'' (plural sphères)^(Wiktionary)

+ ''Espere'' (about 1150), ''spere'' (about 1370), remade as ''sphère'' after Latin in 1509; the Académie wrote ''sphere'' in 1694 and 1718.^(GLLF 1989)^(DHLF 1992)^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la|sphaera|t=ball; globe; celestial sphere]],^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(FEW|12, 169a) from [[grc|σφαῖρα|tr=sphaîra|t=ball; globe, sphere]].^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) Rey connects the Greek word with [[m|grc|σπαίρω|tr=spaírō|t=to quiver]], the aspirate being expressive;^(DHLF 1992) Littré linked it with [[m|grc|σπεῖρα|tr=speîra|t=coil]].^(Littré 1873) The learned form replaced the earlier “espere”, from the same Latin word.^(Wiktionary)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ Cognate with [[pro|espera]], [[es|esfera]] and [[it|sfera]].^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The ''Roman de Thèbes'' (about 1150) has ''espere'' for each of the concentric spheres on which the heavenly bodies were thought to be set.^(TLFi)^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In Jean de Meun (1269–1278) ''espere'' was also a star or heavenly body, and the solid whose surface is everywhere equidistant from its centre.^(TLFi) The word named representations of the heavens and the earth: a model of the celestial sphere (1382), an astronomical clock (1376) and a globe (1572).^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) Oresme (14th century) uses ''espere'' for a ball given to a child.^(Littré 1873) Copernican astronomy relegated the celestial spheres to history.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ Figuratively ''sphère'' came to mean the bounds of moral things (Pascal, 1656) and the domain in which a person acts (La Bruyère, 1688), as in ''sphère d'activité'' (1690), ''sortir de sa sphère'' (1718), ''les hautes sphères'' “ruling circles” (1870) and ''sphère d'influence'' (1926).^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(GLLF 1989) Compounds include ''hémisphère'', ''planisphère'' (1555) and ''stratosphère'' (about 1898).^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1150 – ''Espere'' in the ''Roman de Thèbes''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1269–1278 – A star; a solid sphere, in Jean de Meun.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1370 – ''Spere'' in Oresme.^(GLLF 1989)

+ * 1509 – The spelling ''sphère'' in Lemaire de Belges.^(GLLF 1989)^(BHVF)

+ * 1656 – Figurative bounds, in Pascal.^(TLFi)

+ * 1688 – A sphere of activity, in La Bruyère.^(TLFi)

+ * 1870 – ''Les hautes sphères''.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(geometry)'' A [[m|en|sphere]]; a spherical body.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Le Robert)

+ # ''(astronomy)'' ''Sphère céleste'': the celestial sphere, ''sphère armillaire'': an armillary sphere.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(GLLF 1989)

+ # A domain, field of activity or influence: ''sphère d'influence'', ''la sphère privée''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(GLLF 1989)

+ # ''Les hautes sphères'': the ruling circles.^(DHLF 1992)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(historical)'' Each of the concentric spheres of ancient astronomy.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[sphérique]]

+ * [[sphéricité]]

+ * [[planisphère]]

+ * [[hémisphère]]

+ * [[atmosphère]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[grc|σφαῖρα|tr=sphaîra]]

+ * [[en|sphere]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}