souvenir French · revision 16376

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 1100, Chanson de Roland (suvenir)|origins=la veniō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /su.v(ə).niʁ/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''souvenir'''^(Wiktionary)

+ Old French ''suvenir'' (1080), ''sovenir'' (about 1130), ''souvenir'' from the early 13th century.^(DHLF 1992)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|fro|sovenir]], [[inh|la|subveniō|t=to come up; to come to mind]], from [[m|la|sub|t=under]] and [[m|la|veniō|t=to come]].^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(FEW|12, 376a)^(Wiktionary) Latin “subvenīre” meant “to come up unexpectedly” and “to come to help”; in imperial Latin it also meant “to occur to the mind”, used impersonally, just as [[m|la|succurrō]] did.^(TLFi)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(DHLF 1992) Its learned doublet is [[subvenir]].^(Wiktionary)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ Littré attributes the sense “come to memory” to the Romance languages.^(Littré 1873) Cognate with [[pro|sovenir]] and [[it|sovvenire]].^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ About 1100 the ''Chanson de Roland'' uses it impersonally: ''De grant dulur li poüst suvenir'' “he might well remember great sorrow”.^(TLFi)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Old French used it impersonally (''il me souvient de''), a construction now literary; it also meant “to help” (1270–75), a sense taken over by the borrowing [[subvenir]].^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) Personal uses appear in Brunetto Latini (about 1265), and the reflexive ''se souvenir'', modelled on ''se rappeler'', from the 14th century; it became usual only in the 16th, when it replaced Old French ''se membrer'', ''se remembrer'' and others.^(TLFi)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ''Souvienne vous de Guinegate !'' is a threat in Commynes (about 1500), and ''je m'en souviendrai !'' marks resentment from 1798.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) The infinitive used as a noun, ''le souvenir'', dates from the 13th century, ''souvenirs'' as memoirs from about 1720, ''en souvenir de'' from 1823, and a keepsake from 1836.^(DHLF 1992)^(Grand Robert 2005) English borrowed ''souvenir'', “memory”, in 1775 and “memento” by 1782.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1100 – Impersonal ''suvenir'' in the ''Chanson de Roland''.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1130–1140 – Remembering as a deliberate act, in Wace.^(TLFi)

+ * 13th century – ''Le souvenir'', the noun.^(Grand Robert 2005)^(DHLF 1992)

+ * c. 1265 – Personal use in Brunetto Latini.^(TLFi)

+ * 14th century – ''Se souvenir''.^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+ * c. 1720 – ''Souvenirs'', memoirs.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1775 – English borrows ''souvenir''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1836 – ''Souvenir'', a keepsake.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Verb===

+ # ''Se souvenir de'': to [[m|en|remember]], recall: ''je me souviens de lui''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''Se souvenir que'': to remember that.^(Wiktionary)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # To bear in mind; to remember with gratitude or with resentment: ''je m'en souviendrai !''^(DHLF 1992)

+ # ''(literary, impersonal)'' ''Il me souvient de'': I remember.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Larousse)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|memory]], something remembered: ''un souvenir agréable''.^(Larousse)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Memory, remembrance: ''rappelez-moi à son bon souvenir''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Larousse)

+ # A [[m|en|keepsake]]; a souvenir sold to tourists.^(Larousse)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''Souvenirs'': memoirs.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[souvenance]]

+ * [[ressouvenir]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[venir]]

+ * [[subvenir]]

+ * [[en|souvenir]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}