soutenir French · revision 15950

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 880, Sequence of Saint Eulalia|origins=la teneō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /sut.niʁ/^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA: /su.tə.niʁ/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''soutenir'''^(Wiktionary)

+ [[fro|sostenir]] (about 880), [[m|fro|sustenir]], [[m|fro|soustenir]] (12th century); ''soutenir'' from the early 13th century; the Académie wrote ''soustenir'' (1694), ''soûtenir'' (1740), ''soutenir'' (1762).^(DHLF 1992)^(TLFi)^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|fro|sostenir]], [[inh|la-vul|*susteniō|alt=*sustenīre]], an alteration of classical [[la|sustineō|t=to hold up; to endure]],^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(FEW|12, 476b) remade after “*tenire” (see [[tenir]]);^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) the Latin verb is formed from “sub-” “under” and [[la|teneō|t=to hold]].^(DHLF 1992)^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ [[it|sostenere]] and [[es|sostener]] continue the classical form, [[pro|sostenir]] and [[ca|sostenir]] the popular one.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The ''Sequence of Saint Eulalia'' (about 880) has ''Melz sostendreiet les empedementz qu'elle perdesse sa virginitet'', she would rather endure torments than lose her virginity: the sense “to bear, endure”.^(TLFi)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The ''Vie de saint Alexis'' (about 1050) uses it of food that sustains the body, and the ''Chanson de Roland'' (1080) of upholding Christendom;^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) the ''Voyage de Charlemagne'' (about 1140) has the concrete “to hold up” (''cele estache que le palais sustent'').^(TLFi) By the 13th century it meant “to take someone's side”, “to keep (a thing) going” and “to argue for” (Jean de Meun), with ''soutenir que'' (1349) and ''soutenir son opinion'' (Oresme, 1370).^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ From the 16th century it meant to withstand an attack (''soutenir un siège'', Alain Chartier, 1422, ''soutenir le choc'', 1587).^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) Classical phrases include ''soutenir son rang'' (1665), ''soutenir la conversation'' (Molière, 1663) and ''soutenir une thèse'' (Gui Patin, 1649), whence ''soutenance'' (1856).^(DHLF 1992)^(TLFi)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) Vaugelas (1647) speaks of ''langage soutenu''.^(TLFi) The Anglo-Norman ''sustenir'' corresponds to [[en|sustain]].^(AND)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 880 – ''Sostendreiet'' in the ''Sequence of Saint Eulalia''.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1050 – “To sustain (with food)”, in ''Saint Alexis''.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1140 – “To hold up”.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1180 – ''Souteneur'' “protector”.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+ * 1349 – ''Soutenir que'' in Guillaume de Machaut.^(TLFi)

+ * 1422 – ''Soutenir le siège'' in Alain Chartier.^(TLFi)

+ * 1647 – ''Langage soutenu'' in Vaugelas.^(TLFi)

+ * 1649 – ''Soutenir une thèse''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1856 – ''Soutenance''.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To [[m|en|support]], hold up: ''des piliers soutiennent la voûte'', ''soutenir un blessé''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # To sustain, give strength to: ''prenez du café, ça vous soutiendra''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Le Robert)

+ # To support, back (a person, a cause): ''soutenir un candidat''; to help financially.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # To maintain, argue: ''soutenir que'', ''soutenir une opinion'', ''soutenir une thèse'': to defend a thesis.^(Wiktionary)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # To withstand: ''soutenir un siège'', ''soutenir le regard de qqn'', ''soutenir la comparaison''.^(TLFi)^(GLLF 1989)

+ # To keep up: ''soutenir la conversation'', ''soutenir l'effort''.^(Wiktionary)^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[souteneur]]

+ * [[soutien]]

+ * [[soutenable]]

+ * [[soutenance]]

+ * [[soutènement]]

+ * [[soutien-gorge]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[tenir]]

+ * [[maintenir]]

+ * [[la|sustineō]]

+ * [[en|sustain]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}