histoire French · revision 15930

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=early 12th century, Vie de saint Alexis|origins=grc ἱστορία}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /is.twaʁ/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''histoire''' ''f'' (plural histoires)^(Wiktionary)

+ [[fro|istorie]] (early 12th century), ''storie'' (about 1105), [[m|fro|estoire]], the usual medieval form (1155), ''hystoire'' (Wace, 1155); ''histoire'' in Oresme (about 1361).^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is an adapted borrowing of [[la|historia|t=history, historical narrative; tale]],^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(FEW|4, 439a) from [[grc|ἱστορία|tr=historía|t=inquiry, information; account]],^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) from [[m|grc|ἵστωρ|tr=hístōr|t=one who knows, witness]].^(GLLF 1989)^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Littré 1873) It belongs to the family of [[m|grc|εἰδέναι|tr=eidénai|t=to know]], from the Indo-European root “*weid-” of [[la|videō|t=to see]] and Sanskrit “veda”.^(DHLF 1992)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+

+ Anglo-Norman “estorie”, “historie” corresponds to [[en|history]] and [[en|story]].^(AND)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The prologue of the ''Vie de saint Alexis'' (early 12th century) has ''istorie'', the account of the events of someone's life;^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) in 1155 Wace has ''hystoire'' for a chronicle of a people.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ From the 13th century it also meant the body of knowledge about the human past (Brunetto Latini, about 1265: ''Estoire est raconter les anciennes choses qui ont esté veraiement''), as opposed to poetry and philosophy;^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Littré 1873) ''histoire naturelle'' appears in Belon (1551), and ''la mémoire que la postérité garde du passé'' in Rotrou (1646).^(TLFi) An ''histoire'' was also a scene with several figures in a picture (about 1240), a tapestry or a sculpture, whence ''peintre d'histoire'' (1690).^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ From about 1462 (''Cent Nouvelles nouvelles'') it was any tale, true or invented, and in Molière (1663) a lie told to deceive, whence ''raconter des histoires''.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) In 1670 it was an affair, a business, and the plural soon meant fuss and trouble (''faire des histoires'', 1732).^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) In Belgium ''histoire'' is used, like ''affaire'' in France, for “thing”.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Early 12th century – ''Istorie'' in ''Saint Alexis''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1155 – ''Hystoire'' “chronicle”, in Wace.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1240 – A painted scene.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1265 – Knowledge of the past, in Brunetto Latini.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1361 – The form ''histoire'' in Oresme.^(GLLF 1989)

+ * c. 1462 – A tale, in the ''Cent Nouvelles nouvelles''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1551 – ''Histoire naturelle'' in Belon.^(TLFi)

+ * 1663 – “A lie”, in Molière.^(TLFi)

+ * 1732 – ''Faire des histoires''.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # [[m|en|history|alt=History]]: knowledge and account of the past; the past itself: ''l'histoire de France'', ''entrer dans l'histoire''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # History as a subject or science: ''un professeur d'histoire''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(TLFi)

+ # A [[m|en|story]], tale: ''raconter une histoire'', ''histoire drôle'': joke.^(Wiktionary)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # ''(informal)'' A lie, fib: ''raconter des histoires''.^(Wiktionary)^(DHLF 1992)

+ # An affair, business, ''(plural)'' trouble, fuss: ''faire des histoires'', ''histoire de rire'': just for a laugh.^(Wiktionary)^(DHLF 1992)

+ # ''Histoire naturelle'': natural history.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[histoire-géo]]

+ * [[historien]]

+ * [[historiette]]

+ * [[préhistoire]]

+ * [[historique]]

+ * [[historier]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[idée]]

+ * [[voir]]

+ * [[grc|ἱστορία|tr=historía]]

+ * [[en|history]]

+ * [[en|story]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}