asseoir French · revision 16381

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 980, Passion de Clermont (asseir)|origins=la sedeō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /a.swaʁ/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''asseoir'''^(Wiktionary)

+ Old French ''asseir'' (about 980), ''asseoir''; the 1990 spelling reform allows ''assoir''.^(GLLF 1989)^(Wiktionary) Both present tenses ''j'assieds'' and ''j'assois'' are in use, Littré traced them to western and central pronunciations.^(GLLF 1989)^(Wiktionary)^(Littré 1873)^(Grand Robert 2005)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|fro|asseoir]], [[inh|la-vul|*assedeō]], a remaking after the simple verb [[m|la|sedeō|t=to sit]] of [[la|assideō|t=to sit beside]], from [[m|la|ad|t=to]].^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(FEW|11, 395b)^(Wiktionary) Latin “assidēre” also meant “to tend (a patient)” and “to besiege”, a sense frequent in Old French.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ South of a line from the Gironde estuary to northern Lorraine, dialects use descendants of a derived “*assedītāre”, like [[pro|assetar]] and [[it|assettare]].^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) The reflexive ''s'asseoir“ replaced ”se seoir'', still used in the early 18th century.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ About 980 the ''Passion'' of Clermont uses ''asseir'' for “to place, fix”.^(GLLF 1989)^(DHLF 1992) The reflexive is found in the mid-11th century, and the ''Chanson de Roland'' has ''Al faldestoed s'est Marsiles assis'' “Marsile sat on the throne”.^(DHLF 1992)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ From 1119 it also meant “to establish, institute”, and, from the 12th century it was said of fixing a tax or rent, in connection with [[assiette]].^(DHLF 1992)^(Petit Robert 2007) The transitive ''asseoir quelqu'un'' “to seat someone” is found in the 13th century.^(DHLF 1992) ''Asseoir un camp'', ''asseoir son autorité'' continue the sense “to set firmly”.^(Littré 1873)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+

+ In 19th-century familiar speech ''asseoir'' meant “to dumbfound” (Zola, 1875), and ''va t'asseoir !'' was a popular retort (1869).^(BHVF) The participle ''assis'' gives ''magistrature assise'' and the vote ''par assis et levé''.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 980 – ''Asseir'' in the ''Passion'' of Clermont.^(GLLF 1989)

+ * Mid-11th century – The reflexive ''s'asseoir''.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * c. 1100 – ''S'est assis'' in the ''Chanson de Roland''.^(Littré 1873)

+ * 1119 – “To establish, institute”.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 12th century – ''Asseoir'' a tax, ''assise'', ''rasseoir''.^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+ * 13th century – Transitive ''asseoir quelqu'un''.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1875 – “To dumbfound”, in Zola.^(BHVF)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To [[m|en|seat]], sit (someone) down: ''asseoir un enfant sur une chaise''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''S'asseoir'': to [[m|en|sit]] down: ''asseyez-vous''.^(Wiktionary)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # To set on a firm base; to establish: ''asseoir son autorité''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(GLLF 1989)

+ # To assess, fix the basis of (a tax).^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Littré 1873)

+ # ''(familiar)'' To dumbfound: ''ça m'a assis''.^(GLLF 1989)^(BHVF)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[assise]]

+ * [[rasseoir]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[assis]]

+ * [[seoir]]

+ * [[assiette]]

+ * [[siège]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}