apostrophe French · revision 15856
17 Oct 2026, 21:00 by bogdan “New French entry (TLFi, FEW, DHLF, Bloch–Wartburg…)”
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+ French has two words spelled ''apostrophe'': the figure of speech, from Latin ''apostropha'', and the punctuation mark, from Latin ''apostrophus''.^(Grand Robert 2005)^(DHLF 1992)^(Wiktionary)
+
+ {{homograph|1|figure of speech}}
+
+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1514|origins=grc ἀποστρέφω}}
+
+ ==Pronunciation==
+ * IPA: /a.pɔs.tʁɔf/^(Wiktionary)
+
+ ==Forms==
+ '''apostrophe''' ''f'' (plural apostrophes)^(Wiktionary)
+
+ ==Etymology==
+ The rhetorical term is [[bor|la|apostropha]], from [[grc|ἀποστροφή|tr=apostrophḗ|t=a turning away]],^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Wiktionary)^(FEW|25, 20b) from [[m|grc|ἀποστρέφω|tr=apostréphō|t=to turn away]], from [[m|grc|ἀπό|tr=apó|t=away]] and [[m|grc|στρέφω|tr=stréphō|t=to turn]].^(Wiktionary)^(Littré 1873) The figure is so called because the speaker turns away from his subject to address someone directly.^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) Rey counts it among the Greek terms of rhetoric introduced at the Renaissance.^(DHLF 1992)
+
+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==
+ It is recorded in 1514, in Guillaume Michel, as a figure of rhetoric;^(GLLF 1989) other dictionaries date it to 1516 or 1520.^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Grand Robert 2005)
+
+ ==Semantic evolution==
+ In general use it came to mean a sudden, rude remark addressed to someone (1738).^(DHLF 1992)^(GLLF 1989) In classical French it was also a jocular word for a blow or slap (1661),^(BHVF)^(DHLF 1992) with the verb ''apostropher'' “to slap” (1740), a use that disappeared in the late 18th century.^(DHLF 1992) In grammar a word ''en apostrophe'' is one that addresses someone, as ''toi'' in ''Toi, viens ici !''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Larousse) The verb ''apostropher'' “to address sharply” dates from 1672 (Molière).^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(DHLF 1992)
+
+ ==Timeline==
+ * 1514 – A figure of rhetoric.^(GLLF 1989)
+ * 1661 – Jocular “blow”.^(BHVF)
+ * 1672 – ''Apostropher'' in Molière.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)
+ * 1738 – “Rude remark”.^(DHLF 1992)
+
+ ==Meanings==
+ ===Noun===
+ # ''(rhetoric)'' An [[m|en|apostrophe]]: a figure in which the speaker suddenly addresses a person or personified thing.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Le Robert)
+ # A sharp, rude remark addressed to someone.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Larousse)
+ # ''(grammar)'' ''Mot en apostrophe'': a word used in direct address, a [[m|en|vocative]].^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Larousse)
+ # ''(obsolete, jocular)'' A blow.^(BHVF)^(Littré 1873)
+
+ ==Word family==
+ * [[apostropher]]
+
+ {{homograph|2|punctuation mark}}
+
+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1514|origins=grc ἀποστρέφω}}
+
+ ==Pronunciation==
+ * IPA: /a.pɔs.tʁɔf/^(Wiktionary)
+
+ ==Forms==
+ '''apostrophe''' ''f'' (plural apostrophes)^(Wiktionary)
+
+ ==Etymology==
+ The mark is [[bor|la-lat|apostrophus]], a term of the Latin grammarians,^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Wiktionary)^(FEW|25, 20b) from [[grc|ἀπόστροφος|tr=apóstrophos|t=(accent) of elision]], from [[m|grc|ἀποστρέφω|tr=apostréphō|t=to turn away]].^(Wiktionary)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) Littré explains that it was so named because it turns away and replaces the elided letter.^(Littré 1873) It probably became feminine under the influence of the rhetorical word, and Littré defends the feminine since the Greek word was feminine.^(DHLF 1992)^(Littré 1873)
+
+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==
+ It is first recorded in 1514 for the sign that marks the elision of a vowel.^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Grand Robert 2005)
+
+ ==Semantic evolution==
+ Littré notes that the sign is not old in French: the medieval manuscripts do not have it, and Jacques Peletier wrote in the 16th century that it was invented in his time.^(Littré 1873) A verb ''apostropher'' “to drop the final vowel of (a word)” (1611) has disappeared.^(DHLF 1992) English took ''apostrophe'' “mark showing an omitted letter” from French in the 1580s.^(Etymonline)
+
+ ==Timeline==
+ * 1514 – The sign of elision.^(DHLF 1992)
+ * 1580s – English borrows ''apostrophe''.^(Etymonline)
+ * 1611 – ''Apostropher'' “to elide”.^(DHLF 1992)
+
+ ==Meanings==
+ ===Noun===
+ # An [[m|en|apostrophe]] ('), the sign marking the elision of a vowel, as in ''l'amie'', ''s'il''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Larousse)
+
+ ==Related words==
+ * [[strophe]]
+ * [[en|apostrophe]]
+
+ ==References==
+ {{reflist}}