savoir French · revision 16210

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

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /sa.vwaʁ/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''savoir'''^(Wiktionary)

+ Old French [[m|fro|savir]] (842, as a noun), [[m|fro|saveir]] (about 980), ''savoir'' (about 1165).^(DHLF 1992)^(Grand Robert 2005) From the 15th to the 17th century it was also written ''sçavoir'', as if from Latin ''scīre''.^(DHLF 1992)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|fro|saveir]], [[inh|la-vul|*sapeō|alt=*sapēre]], an alteration of Classical Latin [[m|la|sapiō|alt=sapere|t=to taste; to be wise; to understand]].^(DHLF 1992)^(FEW|11, 193a)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) The Latin verb meant “to have a taste, a smell” and “to perceive by taste”, hence figuratively “to have sense, to be wise”, and as a transitive verb “to understand”, already in the Republican period, and “to know” in Late Latin.^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) Supported by [[m|la|sapiēns]], it eliminated [[m|la|sciō|alt=scīre|t=to know]], which survives only in [[ro|ști]] and Logudorese “iskire”.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) The present “sais” comes from Vulgar Latin “*sayo”, and the subjunctive “sache” from [[m|la|sapiō|alt=sapiat]], with the regular change of [pj].^(Wiktionary)

+

+ The Latin verb has a Germanic correspondent in [[osx|afsebbian|t=to perceive]].^(DHLF 1992) Cognate with [[it|sapere]], [[oc|saber]], [[ca|saber]], [[es|saber]] and [[pt|saber]].^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The infinitive is first found in the Strasbourg Oaths (842), used as a noun: ''in quant Deus savir et podir me dunat'' “as far as God gives me knowledge and power”.^(TLFi)^(GLLF 1989) As a verb it appears at the end of the 10th century, with an infinitive, “to be able to”: ''de Crist non sabent mot parlar'' “they could not say a word about Christ”.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In the second half of the 10th century ''savoir'' + clause meant “to know something from having been told”, and about 1100 “to be able to do something” by talent or practice (''Ben set parler'' “he can speak well”).^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) About 1050 it was a weakened equivalent of ''pouvoir'' (''Ne vus sai dire'' “I cannot tell you”), a use that survives in the negative conditional (''je ne saurais'') and in Belgian French in the positive.^(TLFi)^(Wiktionary) The imperative ''sachez'' calls for attention from about 1100, and ''que je sache'' “as far as I know” is found in 1176–81.^(TLFi)

+

+ The noun ''savoir'' meant “wisdom, intelligence” in the oldest texts and “knowledge acquired by study” from about 1155.^(GLLF 1989)^(Grand Robert 2005) Derivatives include ''savant'' (12th century, a noun from 1634), ''savoir-vivre'' (1466) and ''savoir-faire'' (1671).^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 842 – ''Savir'' as a noun in the Strasbourg Oaths.^(TLFi)^(Grand Robert 2005)

+ * c. 980 – The form ''saveir''.^(DHLF 1992)^(Grand Robert 2005)

+ * late 10th century – ''Savoir'' + infinitive, “to be able to”.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1100 – “To know how to” in the ''Chanson de Roland''.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1165 – The form ''savoir''.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 15th century – The spelling ''sçavoir'' appears.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1466 – ''Savoir-vivre''.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+ * 1671 – ''Savoir-faire''.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To [[m|en|know]] (a fact, something one has learned or been told): ''je sais qu'il est là''.^(Wiktionary)^(DHLF 1992)

+ # To know how to: ''savoir nager''.^(Wiktionary)^(DHLF 1992)

+ # To know (a language, a lesson) by heart or by study: ''savoir sa leçon''.^(DHLF 1992)

+ # ''(negative conditional)'' To be able to: ''je ne saurais vous dire''.^(Wiktionary)^(TLFi)

+ # To find out, to learn: ''je l'ai su hier''.^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''À savoir'': namely.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # [[m|en|knowledge]], learning: ''l'étendue de son savoir''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(GLLF 1989)

+ # ''(philosophy)'' The state of the mind that knows.^(Petit Robert 2007)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[savant]]

+ * [[savoir-faire]]

+ * [[savoir-vivre]]

+ * [[su]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[saveur]]

+ * [[sage]]

+ * [[la|sapiō]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}