très French · revision 16249

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 1050, Vie de saint Alexis|origins=la trāns}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /tʁɛ/^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA: /tʁɛ.z‿/^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA: /tʁe.z‿/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''très'''^(Wiktionary)

+ Old French [[m|fro|tres]], also ''tre'' (12th century); the Académie wrote ''tres'' in 1694, ''trés'' in 1718 and ''très'' from 1740, with a hyphen before the adjective (''très-bon'') until 1835.^(DHLF 1992)^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|fro|tres]], [[inh|la|trāns|t=across, beyond]], pronounced “trās”.^(DHLF 1992)^(FEW|13/2, 197b)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(Wiktionary) The Latin preposition had a local sense, but as a preverb it could mean “right through, completely”, which led to its use as an intensive adverb in popular Latin.^(DHLF 1992)^(TLFi)^(Grand Robert 2005) Bloch and Wartburg compare the development of [[m|la|per|t=through]] in “permagnus” “very great”, and note that the same intensive use is found only in Italian “fra”, “tra” (“trafreddo” “very cold”); elsewhere “trāns” remained a preposition, as Spanish “tras” “behind, after”.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Littré 1873) [[trans-]] and “tré-” are doublets.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ About 1050, in the ''Vie de saint Alexis'', ''très'' already stands before an adjective or adverb to mark the absolute superlative; the Grand Robert and the Grand Larousse cite the ''Chanson de Roland'' (1080).^(TLFi)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Until the 14th–15th century ''très'' was also a preposition, with the spatial sense “behind” (1050), kept in Occitan and Spanish, and of time “after”, hence “from, since” (about 1170); it formed phrases such as ''tresqu'à'' “as far as”.^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) It also formed verbs marking movement beyond, such as [[trépasser]] and [[trébucher]].^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) Since the 16th century it has been only an intensive adverb.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ ''Très'' is placed before adjectives and adverbs, and later before a phrase used as an adjective (second half of the 13th century), in verbal phrases with ''avoir'' (''j'ai si tres soif'', about 1225), before nouns (Racine, 1668) and, from 1715 (Lesage), before a past participle with passive value, a use criticized since the 18th century.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) In answers it stands alone (''pas très'', about 1450–65).^(TLFi) Bloch and Wartburg note that it is not very popular in the dialects.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1050 – Superlative ''très'' in the ''Vie de saint Alexis'', ''très'' “behind”.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+ * c. 1170 – Preposition “since, from”.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * c. 1225 – ''J'ai si tres soif''.^(TLFi)

+ * 14th–15th centuries – End of the prepositional use.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1668 – Before a noun, in Racine.^(TLFi)

+ * 1715 – Before a past participle, in Lesage.^(TLFi)

+ * 1740 – The Académie adopts the spelling ''très''.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adverb===

+ # [[m|en|very]]: before an adjective or adverb: ''très gentil'', ''très vite''.^(Wiktionary)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # Very: before a phrase used as an adjective: ''très en colère'', ''très comme il faut''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(GLLF 1989)

+ # In verbal phrases with ''avoir'': ''avoir très faim'', ''avoir très peur''.^(TLFi)^(GLLF 1989)

+ # Alone in answers: ''pas très''.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[trépasser]]

+ * [[la|trāns]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}