en French · revision 16192

+ {{homograph|1|in}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=842, Serments de Strasbourg|origins=ine-pro *h₁én}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ɑ̃/^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA (before-vowel): /ɑ̃.n‿/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''en'''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The preposition “en” is [[inh|fro|en]], [[inh|la|in|t=in, on, into]].^(TLFi)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(DHLF 1992) The Strasbourg Oaths (842) still have the Latin form “in”, “en” appears at the end of the 9th century.^(DHLF 1992)^(GLLF 1989) Latin “in” had already taken on in Late Latin the senses and uses it has in French.^(TLFi) It goes back to [[itc-pro|*en]], from [[ine-pro|*h₁én|t=in]];^(Wiktionary) compare [[grc|ἐν|tr=en]] and [[de|in]].^(Littré 1873)

+

+ Cognate with [[it|in]], [[oc|en]], [[es|en]] and [[pt|em]].^(Littré 1873)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The Strasbourg Oaths (842) have ''in'' introducing a matter (''in aiudha et in cadhuna cosa'' “in aid and in every thing”) and a movement in time (''d'ist di in avant'' “from this day onwards”).^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ By the end of the 9th century ''en'' marked the place where one is or goes (''en ciel'' “in heaven”) and form or state (''in figure de colomb'' “in the shape of a dove”); by the end of the 10th it meant “on” (''en la cruz'' “on the cross”) and a moral state (''en caritad'').^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) The ''Chanson de Roland'' uses it for composition (''en dous meitiez'' “in two halves”), duration (''en III jurz'') and before a present participle (''en estant''), the gerund, which became regular only in the 18th century.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) ''En'' for the material something is made of (''en terre cuite'', 1521) has been criticized by purists from the 16th century to our day.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ Until the classical period the preposition had wider uses than now; since the 16th century it has often been replaced by [[dans]].^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) Combined with the article it gave Old French ''el'', ''ou'' and plural ''ès'' (about 980); ''ès'' survives in ''licence ès lettres''.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 842 – ''In'' in the Strasbourg Oaths.^(TLFi)

+ * late 9th century – ''En'' of place in the ''Sequence of Saint Eulalia''.^(TLFi)^(GLLF 1989)

+ * late 10th century – “On” and of a moral state, in the ''Passion de Clermont''.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1100 – Of duration, and with the gerund, in the ''Chanson de Roland''.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1170 – Of a change of state, in Chrétien de Troyes.^(TLFi)

+ * 1521 – Of the material: ''en terre cuite''.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Preposition===

+ # [[m|en|in]], to: marks the place, especially before feminine names of countries: ''en classe'', ''en France''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(GLLF 1989)

+ # In: marks a period of time or the time something takes: ''en été'', ''en trois jours''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(TLFi)

+ # In: marks a state or manner: ''en colère'', ''en bonne santé''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(TLFi)

+ # Made of: ''une table en bois''.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+ # Into: marks a change of state or a division: ''couper en deux''.^(TLFi)

+ # With a present participle, forms the [[m|en|gerund]]: ''en marchant''.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ {{homograph|2|of it, from there}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=10th century|origins=la inde}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ɑ̃/^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA (before-vowel): /ɑ̃.n‿/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''en'''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The pronoun “en” is [[inh|fro|ent]], [[inh|la|inde|t=from there, thence]].^(Grand Robert 2005)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Petit Robert 2007) In Late Latin “inde” took on a value like that of the French pronoun, as in Commodian's “te paenitet inde” “you repent of it” (3rd century) and Anthimus's “inde reddo rationem” “I give an account of it” (6th century).^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) The form “ent” is found in the 10th century, “en” in the 11th.^(Grand Robert 2005)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+

+ Cognate with [[it|ne]] and [[pro|en]], [[pro|ne]].^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The pronoun appears as ''ent'' in the 10th century, with its original sense of place, “from there”.^(Grand Robert 2005)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ From “from there” the word came to stand for any complement introduced by ''de'' (“of it, of them, about it”), and for a quantity (''j'en veux deux'').^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) It also became a prefix of verbs of movement, as in [[s'enfuir|alt=s'enfuir]], [[emmener]], [[emporter]] and ''s'en aller''; this use is found only in Gallo-Romance.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Pronoun===

+ # From there: marks the place one comes from: ''j'en viens''.^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # Of it, of them, about it: stands for a complement with ''de'': ''j'en parle'', ''il en rit''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Some, any, of them: stands for a quantity: ''j'en ai deux''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[dans]]

+ * [[la|in]]

+ * [[la|inde]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}