bien French · revision 16213

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=10th century, Vie de saint Léger|origins=la bene}}

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+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /bjɛ̃/^(Wiktionary)

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+ ==Forms==

+ '''bien''' (comparative mieux, superlative le mieux)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|fro|bien]], [[inh|la|bene|t=well]], the adverb corresponding to [[m|la|bonus|t=good]] (whence [[bon]]), opposed like the French word to [[m|la|male]] (whence [[mal]]).^(DHLF 1992)^(FEW|1, 322b)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(Wiktionary) In familiar Latin “bene” was also used with an adverb or adjective simply to strengthen its sense.^(DHLF 1992) Littré argued that the noun “bien” cannot come from [[m|la|bonus|alt=bonum]], since Norman “buen” from “bonus” never turned its “u” into “i”; it is the adverb turned into a noun.^(Littré 1873)

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+ Cognate with [[oc|ben]], [[ca|ben]], [[es|bien]], [[pt|bem]] and [[it|bene]].^(Littré 1873)

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+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The adverb is first found in the 10th century, in the ''Vie de saint Léger''.^(GLLF 1989)^(Grand Robert 2005)

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+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The present values of the adverb are found from the 11th century: “in a satisfactory way” by the standards of the time, intellectual, aesthetic or moral (about 1050), and as an intensifier with verbs and adjectives (about 1050), as in the ironic ''nous voilà bien !'' (1671).^(DHLF 1992) With ''de'' it marks a large, indefinite quantity (''bien des…''), and it strengthens an assertion from the late 10th century.^(DHLF 1992) Its use as a concessive conjunction (1164) was replaced by ''bien que'' in the 14th century.^(DHLF 1992) ''Fort bien'' was fashionable in the 16th and 17th centuries, and ''de bien en mieux'' gave way to ''de mieux en mieux'' in the 18th–19th centuries.^(DHLF 1992)

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+ The noun ''bien'' “good; what is good” is recorded in the 10th century, and in the material sense “property, possessions” in the 11th.^(Grand Robert 2005)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) As an invariable adjective (''c'est bien'', ''des gens bien'') it means “good, decent”.^(Wiktionary)^(Petit Robert 2007)

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+ ==Timeline==

+ * 10th century – The adverb in the ''Vie de saint Léger''; the noun ''bien'' “good”.^(GLLF 1989)^(Grand Robert 2005)

+ * c. 1050 – “Well” and as an intensifier, in the ''Vie de saint Alexis''.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 11th century – The noun in the material sense, “property”.^(Grand Robert 2005)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+ * 1164 – ''Bien'' as a concessive conjunction.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 14th century – ''Bien que'' “although”.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1671 – Ironic ''nous voilà bien !''.^(DHLF 1992)

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+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adverb===

+ # [[m|en|well]]: in a satisfactory way: ''elle danse bien''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Rightly, in a morally good way: ''se conduire bien''.^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # Very, really, quite: ''bien content'', ''bien trop tard''.^(Wiktionary)^(DHLF 1992)

+ # Much, far (in comparisons): ''bien plus grand''.^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''Bien des'', ''bien de'': many, a lot of: ''bien des gens''.^(Wiktionary)^(DHLF 1992)

+ # Indeed, really: strengthens an assertion or asks for confirmation: ''c'est bien lui''.^(Wiktionary)^(DHLF 1992)

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+ ===Adjective===

+ # ''(invariable)'' Good, satisfactory; decent, respectable; good-looking: ''des gens bien''.^(Wiktionary)^(Petit Robert 2007)

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+ ===Noun===

+ # [[m|en|good]]: what is advantageous or useful: ''faire du bien'', ''le bien'', the morally good.^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # ''(often plural)'' Property, possessions, [[m|en|wealth]]: ''les biens de consommation''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Grand Robert 2005)

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+ ==Related words==

+ * [[ben]]

+ * [[bon]]

+ * [[mieux]]

+ * [[combien]]

+ * [[la|bene]]

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+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}