vie French · revision 16283

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=late 10th century, Passion de Clermont|origins=la vīvō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /vi/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''vie''' ''f'' (countable and uncountable, plural vies)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old French [[m|fro|vida]] (about 980), [[m|fro|vithe]] (1050), ''vie'' (1080).^(DHLF 1992)^(Grand Robert 2005)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|fro|vie]], [[inh|la|vīta|t=life; way of life; livelihood; biography]].^(DHLF 1992)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(Wiktionary)^(FEW|14, 540b) “Vīta” comes from an older “*vivita”, derived from [[m|la|vīvō|t=to live]], and Wiktionary traces it to [[itc-pro|*gʷītā]].^(DHLF 1992)^(Wiktionary) The word went through the forms “vida” and “vithe” before reaching “vie” by 1080.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ Cognate with [[it|vita]], [[oc|vida]], [[ca|vida]], [[es|vida]] and [[pt|vida]].^(REW 1935)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ It is first found in the ''Passion de Clermont'' (late 10th century) in ''vida perdoner'' “to spare a life”: ''vida perdonent al ladrun'' “they spare the thief's life”.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In the ''Vie de saint Alexis'' (about 1050) it means both “the fact of living” (''la vithe est fraisle'' “life is frail”) and, religiously, the heavenly life, contrasted with ''la mortel vithe''.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) The lifespan of a person is meant in the ''Chanson de Roland'' (1080), a biography in 1130–1140 and a way of life about 1200.^(DHLF 1992) Eternal life was ''pardurable vie'' (about 1145) before ''vie éternelle'' (1416).^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ Many phrases followed: ''en vie'' “alive” (about 1240), ''donner vie'' “to beget” (about 1273, later ''donner la vie''), ''de bonne vie'' “of honest conduct” (about 1250), with ''fille de vie'' (1399) and ''femme de mauvaise vie'' (1553) for a prostitute, ''à vie'' “for life” (about 1283) and ''à la vie à la mort'' (1690).^(DHLF 1992) From the late 14th century the word also meant “food, subsistence” (''avoir sa vie'', 1395), after one of the senses of Latin ''vīta''.^(DHLF 1992) ''Ma vie'' as a term of endearment is found in 1561.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Timeline==

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

+ * c. 1050 – ''Vithe'' in the ''Vie de saint Alexis''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1080 – ''Vie'' in the ''Chanson de Roland''.^(DHLF 1992)^(Grand Robert 2005)

+ * 1130–1140 – “Biography”.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * c. 1240 – ''En vie'' “alive”.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * c. 1283 – ''À vie'' “for life”.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1395 – ''Avoir sa vie'' “to have one's keep”.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1416 – ''Vie éternelle'' in Christine de Pizan.^(TLFi)

+ * 1690 – ''À la vie à la mort''.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # [[m|en|life|alt=Life]], the state of living beings: ''la vie des plantes'', ''être en vie''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Larousse)

+ # A lifetime, the time between birth and death: ''toute sa vie''.^(Wiktionary)^(Le Robert)

+ # A way of life, existence: ''la vie de famille'', ''mener une vie tranquille''.^(DHLF 1992)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # A [[m|en|biography]]: ''une vie de saint''.^(Wiktionary)^(DHLF 1992)

+ # Liveliness, [[m|en|vitality]]: ''plein de vie''.^(TLFi)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # The cost of living, livelihood: ''la vie est chère'', ''gagner sa vie''.^(Wiktionary)^(DHLF 1992)

+ # ''(religion)'' Life after death: ''la vie éternelle''.^(DHLF 1992)^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[demi-vie]]

+ * [[viable]]

+ * [[viager]]

+ * [[survie]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[vivre]]

+ * [[la|vīta]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ In Switzerland and the Jura there is a second word ''vie'' “way, path”, a variant of Old French ''veie'' (see [[voie]]), recorded about 1210.^(Grand Robert 2005)^(Wiktionary)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}