nous French · revision 16208

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 881, Sequence of Saint Eulalia|origins=la nōs}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /nu/^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA: /nu.z‿/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''nous''' (first-person plural, singular je, object nous, emphatic nous, possessive determiner notre)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old French [[m|fro|nos]] (about 881), ''nous'' from the end of the 12th century.^(GLLF 1989)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|fro|nos]], [[inh|la|nōs|t=we, us]], the first person plural pronoun, stressed and unstressed.^(DHLF 1992)^(FEW|7, 192b)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(Wiktionary) “Nous” is the form that developed in unstressed position, the only one attested from the first texts.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) The Latin word continues an old oblique form, comparable to the unstressed [[sa|नः|tr=naḥ]], which replaced an old nominative from other roots, as in [[sa|वयम्|tr=vayám]] and [[got|𐍅𐌴𐌹𐍃|tr=weis]].^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ Cognate with [[it|noi]], [[es|nos]], [[pro|nos]] and [[pt|nós]].^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The ''Sequence of Saint Eulalia'' (about 881) has ''nos'' both before the verb and after a preposition: ''Tuit oram que por nos degnet preier'' “let us all pray that she may deign to pray for us”.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In Latin ''nōs'' was sometimes used for ''ego'', especially for contrast; from the early Middle Ages (Leo the Great) it served as the plural of majesty for religious and civil authorities, and as the plural of authorship (second half of the 8th century).^(DHLF 1992) Bloch and Wartburg trace the administrative ''nous'' to the usage of the Roman emperors, from Gordian III (about 240).^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) In French the uses of ''nous'' were fixed before the end of the 12th century.^(DHLF 1992) ''Nous'' for the speaker alone is found in 1200, the ''nous'' of modesty in 1213 and the royal ''nous'' in 1241.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ''Nous autres'' appears about 1050 and ''nous-mêmes'' in the 14th century.^(GLLF 1989) ''Chez nous'' “in our country” dates from 1662.^(GLLF 1989)^(DHLF 1992) In many northern dialects ''nous'' as a subject has been replaced by ''je'' (''j'allons''), a usage mocked as rustic since the 15th century.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 881 – ''Nos'' in the ''Sequence of Saint Eulalia''.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1050 – ''Nos otros'' in the ''Vie de saint Alexis''.^(GLLF 1989)

+ * late 12th century – The spelling ''nous''.^(GLLF 1989)

+ * 1213 – The ''nous'' of modesty.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1241 – The royal ''nous''.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1662 – ''Chez nous'' “in our country”, in Molière.^(DHLF 1992)^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Pronoun===

+ # [[m|en|we]]: first person plural subject pronoun: the speaker with one or more others.^(Wiktionary)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # Us, to us: object pronoun: ''il nous regarde'', ''il nous a écrit''.^(Wiktionary)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # Ourselves, each other: reflexive and reciprocal: ''nous nous sommes regardés''.^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # ''(formal)'' We, used for I by an author (of modesty) or a sovereign (of majesty).^(Wiktionary)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[nous-mêmes]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[notre]]

+ * [[on]]

+ * [[la|nōs]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Nous'' is also a rare noun, ''le nous'', the mind or divine reason in philosophy, from [[grc|νοῦς|tr=noûs]].^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}