par French · revision 16269

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

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /paʁ/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''par'''^(Wiktionary)

+ ''Per'' (842), Old French ''par'' (10th century–1050).^(DHLF 1992)^(Grand Robert 2005)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|fro|par]], [[inh|la|per|t=through, across; during; by means of; in the name of]].^(TLFi)^(FEW|8, 211b)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) Latin “per” had the local sense “through, along, over”, the temporal sense “during” and the senses of means and of the power invoked in an oath; it tended to replace the instrumental ablative, especially with the passive.^(DHLF 1992) The change of Latin “e” to “a” is rare in standard French, but compare [[marchand]] from “mercantem”.^(Littré 1873)

+

+ “Per” belongs to a group of prepositions with the original sense “forward”, with [[m|la|prō]] and [[m|la|prae]]; it is an old locative, as in [[sa|परि|tr=pari]] and [[grc|περί|tr=perí]].^(DHLF 1992) Cognate with [[oc|per]], [[es|por]] and [[it|per]].^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The Strasbourg Oaths (842) have ''per dreit'' “by right, rightly”, marking manner.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ By the late 10th century ''par'' marked the place through which one passes, and the means (1st half of the 10th century).^(TLFi)^(Petit Robert 2007) About 1100 it marked distribution (''par uns e uns'' “one by one”), and in 1119 the number of times (''par quatre feiz'').^(TLFi) In Old French ''par'' also gave an adjective superlative force, like the Latin prefix [[m|la|per-]] in ''permagnus'' “very great”, but it could be separated from the adjective; the only survival is ''par trop''.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Littré 1873) ''Parce que'' (1272) replaced ''pource que'' in the 17th century.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

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+ The archaic ''de par le roi'' “in the king's name” is a 13th-century alteration of ''de part'' “on behalf of”.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Littré 1873)^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 842 – ''Per dreit'' in the Strasbourg Oaths.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 980 – Of place, in the ''Passion de Clermont''.^(GLLF 1989)

+ * c. 1050 – The form ''par''.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * c. 1100 – Distributive ''par uns e uns''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1272 – ''Parce que''.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+ * 13th century – ''De par'' replaces ''de part''.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Preposition===

+ # [[m|en|through]], via: marks the place passed through: ''passer par la porte''.^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # In, around (a place): ''courir par les rues'', ''par terre'', on the ground.^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # [[m|en|by]]: introduces the agent of a passive verb: ''il a été mordu par un chien''.^(DHLF 1992)^(GLLF 1989)

+ # By, by means of: ''envoyer par la poste''.^(GLLF 1989)

+ # Out of, from: marks the cause or motive: ''par jalousie''.^(GLLF 1989)

+ # Per, each: marks distribution: ''deux fois par jour''.^(TLFi)

+ # On, in (weather or time): ''par un beau jour''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[parfois]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[parce que]]

+ * [[la|per]]

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+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Par'' is also an anglicism in golf (1929), the number of strokes needed for a hole, from English ''par'', from Latin ''par'' “equal”.^(Grand Robert 2005)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}