fait French · revision 16355

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 1160, Eneas|origins=la faciō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /fɛ/^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA: /fɛt/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''fait''' ''m'' (plural faits)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|fro|fet]], [[inh|la|factum|t=deed, act]], the neuter past participle of [[m|la|faciō|t=to do, make]] used as a noun.^(TLFi)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(FEW|3, 361b)^(Wiktionary) It is thus the same word as the past participle “fait” of [[faire]].^(TLFi)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+

+ Cognate with [[it|fatto]], [[pro|fach]], [[ca|fet]], [[es|hecho]] and [[pt|feito]].^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Littré 1873)^(REW 1935)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ About 1160 the ''Roman d'Eneas'' uses it for “what has happened, an action”, and also for “what really exists, reality”.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ About 1170 it meant a memorable deed, an exploit, whence ''fait de guerre'' (1306) and ''fait d'armes''; in the early 13th century, a person's way of acting.^(TLFi)^(Petit Robert 2007) Beaumanoir used it as a legal term in 1283, and Brunetto Latini (1268) for the particular matter under discussion, as in ''venir au fait''.^(TLFi)

+

+ Adverbial phrases formed early: ''tout à fait'' (12th century, ''tot a fait''), ''en fait'' (1268) and ''de fait'' (1283).^(TLFi) The proverb ''ce qui est fait est fait'' is in Robert Estienne (1531).^(BHVF) The final ''t'' is often sounded in the singular, especially at the end of a phrase (''c'est un fait'').^(Grand Robert 2005)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1160 – ''Fait'', an action and a reality, in ''Eneas''.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1170 – ''Fait'', a memorable deed, in Benoît de Sainte-Maure.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1200 – ''Tot a fait''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1268 – ''En fait'' in Brunetto Latini.^(TLFi)

+ * 1283 – A legal term and ''de fait'' in Beaumanoir.^(TLFi)

+ * 1306 – ''Fait de guerre''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1531 – ''Ce qui est fait est fait''.^(BHVF)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|fact]]: something that has happened or is certain: ''le fait est là''.^(Larousse)^(Wiktionary)

+ # An [[m|en|act]], deed: ''le fait de parler'', ''prendre sur le fait'', to catch in the act.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Grand Robert 2005)

+ # A notable deed: ''fait d'armes'', ''hauts faits''.^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # ''(law)'' An event having legal effect.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Larousse)

+ # ''Fait divers'': a news item about a minor event.^(Larousse)

+ # ''En fait'', ''de fait'': in fact, ''au fait'': by the way, ''tout à fait'': quite.^(TLFi)^(Larousse)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Made, done: ''du travail bien fait'', ''c'est bien fait pour lui''.^(TLFi)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Built, formed: ''bien fait de sa personne''.^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # Fully developed, [[m|en|ripe]]: ''un homme fait'', ''un fromage fait''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[faire]]

+ * [[la|factum]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}