intriguer French · revision 15862

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1532, du Wes|origins=la trīcae}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ɛ̃.tʁi.ɡe/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''intriguer'''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|it|intrigare|t=to entangle; to perplex; to intrigue]],^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(FEW|4, 779b) the northern Italian form of [[m|it|intricare]], from [[la|intrīcō|t=to entangle, embarrass]].^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) Littré traced the Latin verb to [[m|la|trīcae|t=trifles, perplexities]].^(Littré 1873) The Italian verb meant “to entangle” and “to perplex” from the late 13th century, “to scheme” before 1541, “to meddle” in 1545 and “to arouse curiosity” before 1610.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ French had earlier borrowed the Latin verb as [[m|frm|entriquer]] (14th century) and [[intriquer]], its doublet.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Wiktionary) Bloch and Wartburg think the sense “to scheme” may have developed in French and then passed into Italian.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The first record, in Giles du Wes's grammar (1532), has it in the sense “to entangle, muddle”.^(TLFi)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In 1572 an affair ''intricgué'' was a complicated one.^(GLLF 1989)^(DHLF 1992) The reflexive ''s'intriguer'' meant “to busy oneself with” (d'Aubigné, before 1630) and “to meddle in” (Retz).^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) The intransitive sense “to scheme, carry on intrigues” is in Pascal's ''Provinciales'' (1656): the cleverest Jesuits are those ''qui intriguent beaucoup''.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) La Fontaine (1678–1679) uses it transitively for “to trouble, preoccupy”, and Marivaux's ''intriguée'' (1735) is “anxious to know”;^(TLFi) hence the modern sense “to puzzle, arouse the curiosity of”.^(DHLF 1992)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+

+ At masked balls one ''intriguait'' someone by teasing their curiosity without being recognised.^(TLFi)^(Littré 1873) In the 18th century ''intriguer une pièce'' meant to give a play its plot (Voltaire, 1764).^(DHLF 1992) The noun ''intrigue'' (1578) and ''intrigant'' (1583) are from Italian too.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1532 – “To entangle” in Giles du Wes.^(TLFi)

+ * 1572 – ''Intricgué'' “complicated”.^(GLLF 1989)

+ * 1578 – The noun ''intrigue''.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+ * Before 1630 – ''S'intriguer'' in d'Aubigné.^(TLFi)

+ * 1656 – “To scheme” in Pascal.^(TLFi)

+ * 1678–1679 – “To trouble” in La Fontaine.^(TLFi)

+ * 1735 – ''Intrigué'' in Marivaux.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Verb===

+ # ''(transitive)'' To [[m|en|puzzle]], make curious: ''ça m'intrigue'', ''intrigué'': puzzled, curious.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(intransitive)'' To [[m|en|scheme]], plot, use intrigue: ''obtenir un poste en intriguant''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Le Robert)

+ # ''(obsolete)'' To trouble, embarrass.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Grand Robert 2005)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[intrigue]]

+ * [[intrigant]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[intriquer]]

+ * [[it|intrigare]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}