peut-être French · revision 16288

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=compound|attested=first half of the 12th century, Oxford Psalter}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /pø.t‿ɛtʁ/^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA: [pøˈt‿ɛ.tʁə]^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA (informal): [pœ.t‿aɪ̯t(ʁ)]^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA (Louisiana): [pøt‿ɛt(ɾ)]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''peut-être'''^(Wiktionary)

+ ''Put cel estre'' (about 1120), ''puet estre'' (about 1160), ''peut-estre'' (early 15th century), ''peut-être'' (1680); the Académie wrote ''peut-estre'' in 1694 and 1718 and ''peut-être'' from 1740.^(DHLF 1992)^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is formed [[af|fr|pouvoir|être]], from “peut”, the third person singular present of [[pouvoir]], and the infinitive [[être]].^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(FEW|9, 232b) It is an ellipsis of Old French “puet cel estre” “that may be”.^(Grand Robert 2005)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Petit Robert 2007) Old French also used [[m|fro|espoir]] as an adverb meaning “perhaps”.^(Littré 1873) Wiktionary compares [[ca|potser]].^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ It is first found in the first half of the 12th century in the Oxford Psalter as ''put cel estre'' “perhaps, that may be”.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ ''Puet estre que'' with the indicative is found at the end of the 12th century, and ''peut-être que'' in Corneille's ''Cinna'' (1641).^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) The word served as an evasive answer from 1636 (''Le Cid''), and placed at the end of a sentence it expressed defiance or irony from 1775 (Beaumarchais).^(TLFi) With ''bien'' (1824) it expresses probability, whence the ''p'têt ben qu'oui, p'têt ben qu'non'' attributed to Normans.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ As a noun, ''un peut-être'' (1637) is rare except in allusion to the words Rabelais is said to have written on his deathbed: ''je m'en vais chercher un grand peut-être''.^(DHLF 1992)^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * First half of the 12th century – ''Put cel estre'' in the Oxford Psalter.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1160 – ''Puet estre'' in the ''Roman d'Eneas''.^(TLFi)

+ * Late 12th century – ''Puet estre que''.^(TLFi)

+ * Early 15th century – ''Peut-estre'' in the ''Quinze joies de mariage''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1636 – Evasive answer, in Corneille's ''Le Cid''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1637 – Used as a noun.^(TLFi)

+ * 1775 – Expressing defiance, in Beaumarchais's ''Barbier de Séville''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1824 – ''Peut-être bien''.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adverb===

+ # [[m|en|perhaps|alt=Perhaps]], [[m|en|maybe]]: ''Ils ne viendront peut-être pas.''^(Le Robert)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''Peut-être que'', with the indicative: it may be that.^(Larousse)^(TLFi)

+ # ''Peut-être bien'': quite possibly, probably.^(Larousse)^(DHLF 1992)

+ # As an answer: perhaps, evasively.^(TLFi)^(Le Robert)

+ # At the end of a sentence, expressing defiance: ''Je ne sais pas conduire, peut-être ?''^(Larousse)

+ # Before a number: about: ''Il y avait peut-être vingt personnes.''^(Larousse)^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''Un peut-être'': something doubtful.^(Littré 1873)^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[pouvoir]]

+ * [[être]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}