entre French · revision 16332

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=late 10th century, Passion de Clermont|origins=ine-pro *h₁enter}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ɑ̃tʁ/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''entre'''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la|inter|t=between, among; during]], a preposition and verbal prefix with the same uses.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(FEW|4, 747b) Rey analyses “inter” as [[m|la|in|t=in]] with an element “-ter-” that sets two things against each other, as in “alter” “the other (of two)”, Wiktionary traces it to [[ine-pro|*h₁enter|t=between]].^(DHLF 1992)^(Wiktionary) “Entre” is a doublet of the learned prefix [[inter-]].^(Wiktionary)

+

+ Cognate with [[pro|entre]] and [[es|entre]], Italian uses “fra” or “tra” instead.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ It is first found in the ''Passion de Clermont'' (late 10th century) meaning “in the space between” and, in the same text, “among, in the midst of”.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ About 1050 ''entre'' was used of any intermediate state, in time or figuratively (''entre la vie et la mort''), and of reciprocity within a group.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) With a personal pronoun naming a group it appears in 1130–1140 (''fui d'entre nos !'' “flee from among us!”), the model of ''entre nous''; comparison (''choisir entre'') dates from the 16th century.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ As a prefix ''entre-'' forms nouns for the space between two things ([[entracte]]) or a mutual action ([[entraide]]), verbs of reciprocal action (''s'entre-tuer'') and, a French development, verbs of half-done action such as [[entrouvrir]] and [[entrevoir]].^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

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

+ * c. 1050 – Intermediate state, and reciprocity, in the ''Vie de saint Alexis''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1130–1140 – ''D'entre nos'' in Wace.^(TLFi)

+ * 1283 – A further sense in Beaumanoir.^(GLLF 1989)

+ * 16th century – Expressing comparison.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Preposition===

+ # [[m|en|between|alt=Between]], in space: ''entre la France et l'Espagne'', ''entre ses mains''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(GLLF 1989)

+ # Between, in time: ''entre dix et onze heures''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(GLLF 1989)

+ # [[m|en|among|alt=Among]]: ''entre autres'', ''l'un d'entre eux''.^(DHLF 1992)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Between, of a relation or exchange: ''entre amis'', ''entre nous'', between ourselves.^(DHLF 1992)^(GLLF 1989)

+ # Between, of a comparison or choice: ''hésiter entre deux solutions''.^(DHLF 1992)

+ # Of an intermediate state: ''entre la vie et la mort''.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[entracte]]

+ * [[entraide]]

+ * [[entre-temps]]

+ * [[entrouvrir]]

+ * [[entrevoir]]

+ * [[entrebâiller]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[inter-]]

+ * [[la|inter]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}