connaître French · revision 16286

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

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /kɔ.nɛtʁ/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''connaître'''^(Wiktionary)

+ Old French [[m|fro|conoistre]]; the spelling with ''-ai-'', proposed by Berain in 1675 and defended by Voltaire, was adopted by the Académie only in 1835.^(TLFi)^(GLLF 1989) Since the 1990 spelling reform ''connaitre'' is also accepted.^(Larousse)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|fro|conoistre]], [[inh|la|cognōscō|t=to get to know; to recognize; to have carnal knowledge of]], which in part of the Romance area became “conoscere” under the influence of the simple verb [[m|la|nōscō|t=to get to know]].^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Wiktionary)^(FEW|2, 844a) Like all Latin verbs in “-scō” it was inchoative, “to come to know”, but its perfect meant “to know”, the sense that passed into French.^(DHLF 1992) “Nōscō” goes back to the Indo-European root of “know”, also seen in [[grc|γνῶσις|tr=gnôsis]], [[de|kennen]] and [[en|know]].^(Petit Robert 2007)

+

+ Wiktionary notes that “connaître” is one of the few words in which Old French ⟨oi⟩ became /ɛ/ (spelled ⟨ai⟩) rather than /wa/.^(Wiktionary) Cognate with [[ro|cunoaște]], [[it|conoscere]], [[ca|conèixer]], [[es|conocer]] and [[pt|conhecer]].^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ It is first found about 1050 in the ''Vie de saint Alexis'', of a person one has seen or been with, and also in the sense “to recognize”.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The sense “to recognize”, still found in the 17th century, was given up because it was ambiguous and was taken over by [[reconnaître]], like “to acknowledge the superiority of” (1080) and “to tell one thing from another” (late 12th century); the former returned in ''ne connaître que'' “to acknowledge only” (1835).^(DHLF 1992)^(TLFi) “To know of, have an idea of” became the main sense.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ The biblical sense “to have sexual relations with” is found in 1170 (''Livre des Rois'').^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) From 1160 ''connaître'' also meant to know a field of knowledge, ''se connaître'' (about 1230) took on a philosophical weight from ''know thyself'', and ''se connaître à'', then ''en'' (1268), and ''s'y connaître'' meant “to be expert in”.^(DHLF 1992)^(TLFi)^(BHVF) The legal ''connaître de'' “to have jurisdiction over” (1549) left the phrase ''en connaissance de cause''.^(DHLF 1992) About 1175 the verb also took the sense “to experience” (''connaître la faim'').^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Timeline==

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

+ * 1080 – ''Conoisance'' “knowledge”.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1160–1174 – “To have knowledge of a field”, in Wace.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1170 – ''Connaître une femme'' in the ''Livre des Rois''.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1175 – “To experience, feel”, in Chrétien de Troyes.^(TLFi)

+ * 1268 – ''Se connaître en'' “to be expert in”.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1549 – Legal ''connaître de''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1835 – The Académie adopts the spelling ''connaître''.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To [[m|en|know]], have knowledge of (a fact, a subject): ''connaître un mot'', ''connaître l'histoire''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(GLLF 1989)

+ # To know, be acquainted with (a person): ''Je le connais depuis dix ans.''^(Wiktionary)^(Littré 1873)

+ # To know (a place), be familiar with: ''connaître Paris''.^(Wiktionary)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # To [[m|en|experience]], go through: ''connaître la faim'', ''connaître le succès''.^(Wiktionary)^(DHLF 1992)

+ # ''S'y connaître'', ''se connaître en'': to be an expert in.^(Wiktionary)^(DHLF 1992)

+ # ''Ne connaître que'': to acknowledge only: ''Il ne connaît que son devoir.''^(DHLF 1992)^(TLFi)

+ # ''(law)'' ''Connaître de'': to have [[m|en|jurisdiction]] over.^(Wiktionary)^(Larousse)

+ # ''(archaic)'' To know sexually.^(Wiktionary)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[connaissance]]

+ * [[connu]]

+ * [[connaissable]]

+ * [[connaissement]]

+ * [[connaisseur]]

+ * [[inconnu]]

+ * [[méconnaître]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[reconnaître]]

+ * [[la|cognōscō]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}