perdre French · revision 15868

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=late 9th century, Sequence of Saint Eulalia|origins=la perdō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /pɛʁdʁ/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''perdre'''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|fro|perdre]], [[inh|la|perdō|t=to destroy, ruin; to waste; to lose]],^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(FEW|8, 221b) formed from [[m|la|per-|t=thoroughly]] and [[m|la|dō|t=to give]], so properly “to give away to no purpose”.^(DHLF 1992)^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Littré 1873) The Grand Robert notes that French kept both the active and the passive senses of the Latin verb, “to ruin” and “to be deprived of”.^(Grand Robert 2005)

+

+ Cognate with [[ro|pierde]], [[it|perdere]], [[oc|perdre]], [[ca|perdre]], [[es|perder]] and [[pt|perder]].^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The ''Sequence of Saint Eulalia'' (late 9th century) has ''qu'elle perdesse sa virginitet'' “that she should lose her virginity”, the sense “to be deprived of part of oneself or of a quality”.^(TLFi)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The Latin sense “to corrupt, pervert (someone)” is found about 980, and later in ''perdre son âme'' (1190).^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) By about 1100 the ''Chanson de Roland'' has ''perdre le sens'' “to lose one's mind” and the sense “to waste”;^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) ''perdre son temps'' dates from about 1200.^(TLFi) To lose someone by death is recorded about 1050 (''Saint Alexis''), and to lose at play or in business from the 12th–13th centuries (''perdant'', 1288).^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ The reflexive ''se perdre'' meant “to ruin oneself” (Marie de France) before “to lose one's way” (13th century) and “to be bewildered” (Rabelais, 1546, ''je m'y perds'', 1698).^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) ''Perdre de vue'' is in Estienne (1538).^(TLFi) Many familiar phrases followed: ''perdre la tête'' (1762), ''perdre la boule'' (1829) and ''perdre le nord'' (1867).^(GLLF 1989) Intransitively, a container ''perd'' when it leaks (1797).^(TLFi)^(Larousse)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Late 9th century – ''Perdesse'' in the ''Sequence of Saint Eulalia''.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 980 – “To corrupt” in the ''Jonas'' fragment.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1050 – To lose someone by death, in ''Saint Alexis''.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1100 – ''Perdre le sens'' in the ''Chanson de Roland''.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1200 – ''Perdre son temps''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1538 – ''Perdre de vue''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1546 – ''Se perdre'' “to be at a loss”, in Rabelais.^(TLFi)

+ * 1829 – ''Perdre la boule''.^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To [[m|en|lose]]: to cease to have (something, a quality, a faculty): ''perdre son emploi'', ''perdre patience''.^(Le Robert)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # To lose (someone) through death or separation.^(TLFi)^(Littré 1873)

+ # To be unable to find, ''perdre de vue'': to lose sight of.^(Wiktionary)^(TLFi)

+ # To lose (a game, a battle, a lawsuit): ''perdre au jeu''.^(Wiktionary)^(Larousse)

+ # To [[m|en|waste]]: ''perdre son temps''.^(Wiktionary)^(DHLF 1992)

+ # ''(literary)'' To ruin, bring about the downfall of.^(TLFi)^(GLLF 1989)

+ # ''(intransitive)'' Of a container, to [[m|en|leak]].^(Larousse)^(TLFi)

+ # ''(reflexive)'' To get lost; to disappear, ''je m'y perds'': I can't make head or tail of it.^(Wiktionary)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[perdable]]

+ * [[perdant]]

+ * [[perte]]

+ * [[éperdu]]

+ * [[reperdre]]

+ * [[perdu]]

+ * [[imperdable]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[perdition]]

+ * [[éperdre]]

+ * [[déperdition]]

+ * [[la|perdō]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}