classique French · revision 16077

17 Oct 2026, 22:02 by bogdan “New French entry (TLFi, FEW, DHLF, Bloch–Wartburg…)” current version
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+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1548, Thomas Sébillet|origins=la classis}}
+ 
+ ==Pronunciation==
+ * IPA: /kla.sik/^(Wiktionary)
+ 
+ ==Forms==
+ '''classique''' (plural classiques)^(Wiktionary)
+ 
+ ==Etymology==
+ It is [[bor|la|classicus|t=of the first class; first-rate]],^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(FEW|2, 745a) the adjective of [[la|classis|t=class]] (see [[classe]]): the “classici” were the citizens of the first of the five classes into which Romans were divided by wealth.^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) In the 2nd century Aulus Gellius advised consulting the “classici”, not the “proletarii”, on good usage, whence “classici scriptores” “first-rate writers”.^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)
+ 
+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==
+ Thomas Sébillet's ''Art poétique françois'' (1548) recommends the reading ''des bons et classiques poétes françois'', the best poets, as models.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)
+ 
+ ==Semantic evolution==
+ Cotgrave (1611) has it for what serves as a model, an authority, and Richelet (1680) for authors taught in the ''classes''.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) With Voltaire and the ''Encyclopédie'' (1753) it was applied to the French writers of the age of Louis XIV, who imitated the Ancients with measure and reason.^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) In the 19th century it was opposed to ''romantique'' (Mme de Staël, 1810), and in music Rousseau (1768) used it of what follows the rules of the art.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)
+ 
+ In ordinary use it took the sense “not departing from established usage” (before 1826) and, by weakening, “usual, normal” (Lamarck, 1809, ''c'est classique !'').^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) ''Une classique'' is a major one-day cycle race (1896) or a great horse race, and a climbing route (1910).^(DHLF 1992)^(Larousse)^(BHVF) ''Classicisme'' dates from 1817 (Stendhal).^(DHLF 1992)
+ 
+ ==Timeline==
+ * 1548 – ''Classiques poétes'' in Sébillet.^(TLFi)
+ * 1611 – “Authoritative”, in Cotgrave.^(TLFi)
+ * 1680 – “Taught in schools”, in Richelet.^(TLFi)
+ * 1753 – French authors of the 17th century.^(TLFi)
+ * 1768 – In music, in Rousseau.^(TLFi)
+ * 1809 – “Usual”, in Lamarck.^(TLFi)
+ * 1810 – ''Classique'' vs ''romantique'' in Mme de Staël.^(TLFi)
+ * 1817 – ''Classicisme''.^(DHLF 1992)
+ * 1896 – A classic race.^(DHLF 1992)
+ 
+ ==Meanings==
+ ===Adjective===
+ # [[m|en|classical|alt=Classical]]: of Greek and Roman antiquity: ''langues classiques'', ''études classiques''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(GLLF 1989)
+ # Of the French 17th century: ''le théâtre classique'', ''(music)'' ''musique classique''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Larousse)
+ # [[m|en|classic|alt=Classic]], authoritative, model: ''un ouvrage devenu classique''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)
+ # Conventional, traditional: ''une coupe classique'', ''(familiar)'' usual, typical: ''c'est classique !''.^(TLFi)^(Larousse)
+ 
+ ===Noun===
+ # A classic (author or work): ''un classique du jazz'', ''les classiques''.^(Larousse)^(Wiktionary)
+ # Classical music: ''écouter du classique''.^(Larousse)^(Wiktionary)
+ # ''(feminine)'' A classic race (cycling, horse racing).^(Larousse)^(DHLF 1992)
+ 
+ ==Word family==
+ * [[classicisme]]
+ * [[classiquement]]
+ * [[classicisme]]
+ * [[néo-classique]]
+ 
+ ==Related words==
+ * [[classe]]
+ * [[la|classicus]]
+ * [[en|classic]]
+ 
+ ==References==
+ {{reflist}}