qui French · revision 16194

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=842, Serments de Strasbourg|origins=la quī}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ki/^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA (Louisiana): /ki/^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA (Louisiana): /ti/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''qui''' ''m or f''^(Wiktionary)

+ Old French oblique (stressed) [[m|fro|cui]], from Latin ''cui'', used after prepositions until the 13th century; it later merged in spelling with ''qui''.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|fro|qui]], [[inh|la|quī|t=who, which]], the nominative singular masculine of the relative and interrogative pronoun.^(Grand Robert 2005)^(DHLF 1992)^(Wiktionary) In Late Latin (4th century) “quī” became the form for all three genders, eliminating [[m|la|quae]] and [[m|la|quod]].^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) The dative [[m|la|quī|alt=cui]], common to all genders, became the oblique case singular and plural in popular Latin, giving Old French [[m|fro|cui]], soon written “qui”.^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) The object form [[que]] comes from the accusative [[m|la|quī|alt=quem]], and [[quoi]] from [[m|la|quis|alt=quid]].^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ The Latin pronoun belongs to an Indo-European stem [[ine-pro|*kʷo-]], with an added particle “-i”; a parallel stem [[ine-pro|*kʷi-]] gave the interrogative [[m|la|quis]].^(DHLF 1992) Cognate with [[it|chi]] and [[oc|qui]]; [[got|𐌷𐍅𐌰𐍃|tr=ƕas]] is related.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ In the Strasbourg Oaths (842) ''qui'' is a relative subject with an antecedent: ''nul plaid… qui… cist meon fradre Karle in damno sit'' “no agreement … that may harm this brother of mine Charles”.^(TLFi)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Nearly all the uses of ''qui'' are attested before the end of the 12th century.^(DHLF 1992) Without an antecedent it meant “whoever” from the second half of the 10th century, often in sayings (''qui fai lo bien'' “whoever does good”), as in modern ''qui vivra verra''.^(TLFi)^(Petit Robert 2007) Until the 17th century it could also be a neuter interrogative, “what”, as in La Fontaine's ''Qui fait l'oiseau ?''^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) The old separation of ''qui'' from its antecedent by several words became rarer, and its elision to ''qu''' was given up because it was confused with ''que''.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Timeline==

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

+ * 2nd half of 10th century – ''Qui'' without antecedent, “whoever”.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1050 – ''Chi… chi'' “whoever” in the ''Vie de saint Alexis''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1080 – ''Qui'' after a preposition, for a person, in the ''Chanson de Roland''.^(GLLF 1989)

+ * 13th century – End of the separate oblique form ''cui''.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+ * 17th century – Last uses of ''qui'' as a neuter interrogative.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Pronoun===

+ # ''(relative)'' [[m|en|who]], which, that: subject of a relative clause: ''les gens qui nous aiment''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(GLLF 1989)

+ # ''(relative)'' Whom: after a preposition, for a person: ''l'homme à qui je parle''.^(GLLF 1989)

+ # ''(relative, without antecedent)'' Whoever, the one who: ''qui vivra verra''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(GLLF 1989)

+ # ''(interrogative)'' Who, whom: ''qui est là ?'', ''à qui est cette maison ?''^(Wiktionary)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[quiconque]]

+ * [[pourquoi]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[que]]

+ * [[lequel]]

+ * [[quoi]]

+ * [[la|quī]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ In Louisiana French ''qui'' is also a conjunction meaning “if”, perhaps related to ''si''.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}