cher French · revision 16425

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

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ʃɛʁ/^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA (Louisiana): [ʃæɾ]^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA (Louisiana): [ʃæː]^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''cher''' (feminine chère, masculine plural chers, feminine plural chères)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old French [[m|fro|chier]], Picard ''kier'', ''quier''.^(Grand Robert 2005)^(Wiktionary)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|fro|chier]], [[inh|la|cārus|t=dear, beloved; costly, precious]].^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(FEW|2, 439b)^(Wiktionary) The Latin word has cognates in Celtic, such as [[sga|carae|t=friend]], and in Germanic, such as [[goh|huora|t=prostitute]], Wiktionary traces it to a Proto-Indo-European root “*keh₂-” “to desire”.^(DHLF 1992)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ Cognate with [[it|caro]], [[oc|car]], [[ca|car]], [[es|caro]] and [[pt|caro]].^(REW 1935)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ It is first found about 980 in the ''Passion'' of Clermont, both as “beloved” and as “precious” (''chera merz'' “costly goods”).^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Both Latin senses passed into French: “beloved” before the noun and in polite formulas (''cher filz'', about 1050), and “costly” mostly after the noun or as an attribute.^(DHLF 1992)^(TLFi) As an adverb it is used figuratively from the ''Chanson de Roland'' (''vendre cher'', about 1100), with ''coûter cher'' and ''payer cher'' from 1538 and ''faire payer cher'' “to make someone pay” from 1718.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) Lacking an opposite, French says ''pas cher'' “cheap”.^(DHLF 1992) The popular ''chérot'' “pricey” dates from 1883.^(TLFi)

+

+ Derivatives follow the two senses: [[chérir]] “to cherish” (11th century) on one side, [[cherté]] (12th century), [[enchérir]] and [[enchère]] (1259) on the other.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 980 – ''Chier'' “beloved” and “precious” in the ''Passion'' of Clermont.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1050 – ''Cher filz'' in the ''Vie de saint Alexis''.^(TLFi)

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

+ * 1259 – ''Enchère''.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+ * 1538 – ''Coûter cher'', ''payer cher'', in Robert Estienne.^(TLFi)

+ * 1718 – ''Faire payer cher'' “to take revenge”.^(TLFi)

+ * 1883 – ''Chérot''.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # ''(before the noun or as attribute)'' [[m|en|dear]], beloved: ''un être cher'', ''cher ami''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(in letters and greetings)'' Dear: ''Cher Monsieur''; as a noun ''mon cher'', ''ma chère''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(GLLF 1989)

+ # Precious, valued: ''sa mémoire nous est chère''.^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # ''(after the noun)'' [[m|en|expensive]], costly: ''une robe chère'', ''la vie chère''.^(Wiktionary)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+

+ ===Adverb===

+ # At a high price: ''coûter cher'', ''payer cher'', ''pas cher'': cheap.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(Louisiana)'' Dear, honey.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[chèrement]]

+ * [[chérir]]

+ * [[cherté]]

+ * [[enchérir]]

+ * [[enchère]]

+ * [[chérot]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[charité]]

+ * [[caresse]]

+ * [[renchérir]]

+ * [[surenchère]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}