insister French · revision 15969

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1336|origins=la sistō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ɛ̃.sis.te/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''insister'''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la|īnsistō|t=to stand on; to apply oneself to; to dwell on]],^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(FEW|4, 718a) formed from the locative “in-” and [[la|sistō|t=to stand still; to set]], a reduplicated form of [[m|la|stō|t=to stand]], from the Indo-European root “*stā-” (see [[ester]] and [[station]]).^(DHLF 1992)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ It first appears in 1336 as the reflexive ''s'insister en'' “to apply oneself to”, and in 1366 as ''soi insister'' “to devote oneself”, senses that did not last.^(DHLF 1992)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In 1400 it meant to persevere in asking, press, used absolutely and, from the mid-15th century with a preposition; this has remained the most usual sense (''insister pour'', ''n'insistez pas'').^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(GLLF 1989) Classical French also used it for “to persist” (Rotrou), and Calvin and Amyot have ''insister à l'encontre''.^(GLLF 1989)^(Littré 1873) The sense “to dwell on, stress” appears in Pomey (1671, ''insister sur'', Furetière, 1690), and in phonetics it is to stress a syllable.^(TLFi)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(DHLF 1992) ''Insistant'' dates from 1553, and ''insistance'' (1556) was rare before 1801.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1336 – ''S'insister en'' “to apply oneself”.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1400 – “To press, keep asking”.^(TLFi)

+ * 1553 – ''Insistant''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1556 – ''Insistance''.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1671 – “To dwell on”, in Pomey.^(TLFi)

+ * 1801 – ''Insistance'' in common use.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To [[m|en|insist]]: to keep asking, press: ''il insiste pour venir'', ''n'insistez pas''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''Insister sur'': to stress, dwell on: ''insister sur un point''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # To persist, keep at it: ''j'ai insisté et la porte s'est ouverte''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Larousse)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[insistance]]

+ * [[insistant]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[assister]]

+ * [[exister]]

+ * [[persister]]

+ * [[résister]]

+ * [[la|īnsistō]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}