ficher French · revision 15869

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 1120|origins=la fīgō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /fi.ʃe/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''ficher'''^(Wiktionary)

+ [[fro|fichier]]; the infinitive ''fiche'' (1807), modelled on ''foutre'', is used in the familiar senses.^(DHLF 1992)^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|fro|fichier]], [[inh|la-vul|*figicō|alt=*figicāre]], later [[m|la-vul|*ficcō|alt=*ficcāre]], from [[la|fīgō|t=to drive in, fix, pierce]].^(TLFi)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(DHLF 1992)^(FEW|3, 506a) P. Guiraud supposed instead a form based on [[m|la|fictus]], a variant of the participle [[m|la|fixus]].^(DHLF 1992)^(Grand Robert 2005) Littré, after Diez, explained the Romance verb by a suffix “-icare” like that of [[m|la|fodicō]].^(Littré 1873)

+

+ Cognate with [[it|ficcare]], [[pro|ficar]], [[es|hincar]] and [[pt|fincar]].^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(REW 1935)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ It is first found about 1120, meaning “to pierce (the flesh)”;^(DHLF 1992) Wace (1130–1140) uses it for “to fix, fasten”.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ “To drive in by the point” (about 1196) and ''se ficher'' “to stick, sink in” (about 1160) are old senses,^(DHLF 1992)^(TLFi) now mostly in the participle ''fiché''.^(DHLF 1992)^(Grand Robert 2005) ''Ficher le camp'', properly “to pitch camp”, took the jocular sense “to leave” in 1752 and then “to run off”.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ In the 16th century the verb was used for sexual penetration, so that from the 17th century ''ficher'' served as a euphemism for [[foutre]],^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) with the participle ''fichu'' (1611) remade on ''foutu'' and the infinitive ''fiche'' on ''foutre''.^(TLFi)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) Hence “to give” (1628), “to throw, put” (''ficher qqn dehors''), ''ne rien fiche'' “to do nothing”, ''se ficher de'' “to make fun of, not care about” (1691) and ''je m'en fiche'' “I don't care” (1808).^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(BHVF)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1120 – “To pierce”.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1130–1140 – “To fasten” in Wace.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1160 – ''Se ficher'' “to stick in”.^(TLFi)

+ * 1611 – The participle ''fichu''.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+ * 1628 – “To give”, in thieves' slang.^(TLFi)

+ * 1691 – ''Se ficher de''.^(BHVF)

+ * 1752 – ''Ficher le camp'' “to clear off”.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1807 – The infinitive ''fiche''.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To drive in by the point: ''ficher un pieu en terre''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Le Robert)

+ # ''(familiar, also fiche)'' To do: ''qu'est-ce que tu fiches ?'', ''ne rien fiche''.^(TLFi)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(familiar)'' To put, throw or give: ''ficher qqn à la porte'', ''fiche-moi la paix''.^(GLLF 1989)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''Ficher le camp'': to clear off.^(DHLF 1992)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(reflexive, familiar)'' ''Se ficher de'': to make fun of; not to care about: ''je m'en fiche''.^(Wiktionary)^(BHVF)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[je-m'en-fichisme]]

+ * [[fiche]]

+ * [[afficher]]

+ * [[fichu]]

+ * [[fichtre]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[fixe]]

+ * [[foutre]]

+ * [[la|fīgō]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ A second verb ''ficher'' “to put on an index card; to keep a file on (someone)” (1934, ''fiché par la police'') is formed from [[fiche]], itself a noun from the first ''ficher''.^(TLFi)^(Petit Robert 2007)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}