te French · revision 16266

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=late 10th century, Passion de Clermont|origins=ine-pro *twé}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /tə/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''te''' (''t’'' before a vowel or mute ''h'').^(Petit Robert 2007)^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|fro|te]], [[inh|la|tū|alt=tē|t=you]], the accusative of “tū”, in unstressed position; the stressed form of the same Latin word is [[toi]].^(Petit Robert 2007)^(FEW|13/1, 148a)^(GLLF 1989)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) Wiktionary traces it to [[ine-pro|*twé]], the accusative of [[ine-pro|*túh₂|t=you]].^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The ''Passion de Clermont'' (late 10th century) has ''te'' as a direct object: ''nos te laudam'' “we praise you”.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ By the late 10th century ''te'' was also an indirect object, placed before a direct object pronoun (''non t'o permet'' “does not allow it to you”); from 1174–87 it is found after the third-person pronoun (''qui les te bailla ?'' “who gave them to you?”).^(TLFi) The ethic dative (''je te lui ai envoyé un coup de pied'') is familiar.^(GLLF 1989)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * late 10th century – ''Te'' in the ''Passion de Clermont''.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1050 – Elided ''t’'' in the ''Vie de saint Alexis''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1174–87 – ''Les te'' in Chrétien de Troyes.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Pronoun===

+ # [[m|en|you]]: second person singular direct object pronoun: ''je t'aime''.^(Wiktionary)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # (To) you: indirect object: ''je te donnerai'', ''cela peut t'être utile''.^(Wiktionary)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # Yourself: reflexive: ''tu te lèves''.^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(familiar)'' Expresses the interest of the person spoken to: ''et je te frotte, et je te brique''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[ton]]

+ * [[la|tū]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}