pour French · revision 16201

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

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /puʁ/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''pour'''^(Wiktionary)

+ ''Pro'' (842), Old French [[m|fro|por]] (881) and [[m|fro|pur]] (about 1050), ''pour'' from the 13th century.^(DHLF 1992)^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|fro|por]], [[inh|la-lat|pōr]], from Latin [[m|la|prō|t=before, in front of; for, on behalf of; instead of]] by metathesis of the “r”, perhaps helped by [[m|la|per]] (whence [[par]]).^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Wiktionary)^(Grand Robert 2005) Classical Latin already had a preverb “por-” of the same family, as in [[m|la|porrigō|t=to stretch out]] and [[m|la|portendō|t=to foretell]].^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(DHLF 1992) “Prō” meant “forward, in front of”; the idea of something left behind gave “in defence of, in favour of”, then the senses of cause, substitution (“instead of, as”) and proportion, and in Christian writers of the 3rd century that of purpose.^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ The preposition exists only in northern France, the Iberian Peninsula ([[es|por]], [[pt|por]]) and Logudorese Sardinian, Italian and Old Occitan use [[it|per]] instead.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(DHLF 1992) As a preverb “pro-” has relatives in Italic, Celtic, [[got|𐍆𐍂𐌰-|tr=fra-]] and [[sa|प्र-|tr=pra-]], and as a preposition in [[grc|πρό|tr=pró]].^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The Strasbourg Oaths (842) have ''Pro Deo amur'' “for the love of God”, where it means “out of regard for”.^(TLFi)^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In the ''Sequence of Saint Eulalia'' (881) ''por o'' means “that is why”, and the 10th century has ''por qe'' “because”.^(TLFi) Cause is the oldest sense, both of a fact and of a person (''pur tei'' “because of you”, about 1050).^(TLFi) The sense of destination and purpose, which Bloch and Wartburg describe as a Romance development, became the main one.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) ''Pour'' + past infinitive of cause (''pour avoir été censurée'') is found in Molière (1664).^(TLFi)

+

+ Phrases include ''pour sûr'' (1665), ''pour de bon'' (1863) and ''pour de vrai'' (1876), the last replacing Wace's ''pur veir''.^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

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

+ * 881 – ''Por o'' “that is why” in the ''Sequence of Saint Eulalia''.^(TLFi)

+ * 937–952 – ''Por qe'' “because” in the Jonas fragment.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1050 – The form ''pur''.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 13th century – The spelling ''pour''.^(DHLF 1992)^(Grand Robert 2005)

+ * 1665 – ''Pour sûr'' in La Fontaine.^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Preposition===

+ # [[m|en|for]]: meant for, intended for: ''un cadeau pour toi''.^(Wiktionary)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # For, in favour of: ''voter pour un candidat''.^(Wiktionary)

+ # For, towards: marks a destination: ''partir pour Rome''.^(Wiktionary)

+ # To, in order to: with an infinitive, marks a purpose: ''travailler pour vivre''.^(Wiktionary)

+ # Because of, for: marks a cause: ''puni pour avoir menti''.^(TLFi)^(Wiktionary)

+ # For, as regards, according to: ''pour moi, c'est faux''.^(Wiktionary)

+ # Instead of, in exchange for: ''acheter pour dix euros''.^(GLLF 1989)^(Grand Robert 2005)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''Le pour et le contre'': the arguments for and against.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[pourboire]]

+ * [[pourquoi]]

+ * [[pourtant]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[la|prō]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}