esprit French · revision 16440

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=early 12th century, Oxford Psalter (espirit)|origins=la spīrō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ɛs.pʁi/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''esprit''' ''m'' (plural esprits)^(Wiktionary)

+ First written in the Latin form ''spiritus'' (late 10th century), then [[m|fro|espirit]] and [[m|fro|esperit]], ''esprit'' appears in the 14th century and spreads from the 16th.^(DHLF 1992)^(TLFi)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la|spīritus|t=breath, air; life; soul; inspiration]], which came into French mainly through Christian religious texts, along with the Christian senses “disposition, intention; immaterial being, the Holy Spirit, angel, demon, ghost”.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(FEW|12, 191b) Latin “spīritus” is from [[m|la|spīrō|t=to breathe, blow]], a verb with no known cognates outside Latin; in its sense of divine breath it matched [[grc|πνεῦμα|tr=pneûma]].^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ The GLLF and Grand Robert date the form “esperit” to the “Vie de saint Alexis” (about 1050).^(GLLF 1989)^(Grand Robert 2005) Littré noted that the regular outcome would have been “espir”, and that “esprit” supposes a different stress or a shift of the syllables.^(Littré 1873) Wiktionary treats it as inherited through Middle French “esperit” from an older borrowing.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ Cognate with [[it|spirito]], [[es|espíritu]] and [[pt|espírito]].^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The ''Passion de Clermont'' (late 10th century) has the Latin form ''spiritus'' for the principle of life, the soul, translating Matthew 27:50, where Christ gives up his spirit; the French form ''espirit'' is in the ''Oxford Psalter'' (early 12th century).^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The ''Oxford Psalter'' also has the senses “wind, breath”, “creative breath sent by God”, “divine inspiration” and “conscience”.^(TLFi) About 1155 Wace uses it for the intellect and for an imaginary being such as a sprite, and about 1170 ''li mals esperiz'' is the Devil.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) A ghost is ''esprit'' by 1458, and the ''esprit frappeur'' of spiritualism dates from 1865.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) Oresme (1370) has the subtle bodies thought to carry life and feeling, the ''esprits vitaux'', a sense that survives in ''perdre'' and ''reprendre ses esprits'' (1538); ''rendre l'esprit'' “to die” is from 1309.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) In alchemy and old chemistry it was a product of distillation, ''esprit de vin'' (Paré, 1575).^(TLFi)

+

+ From the late 15th century it named a person seen through their mind (''un esprit pénétrant''), and in 1511 a temperament.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) The sense of wit and liveliness, ''avoir de l'esprit'', appears in Noël du Fail in 1547, ''bel esprit'' (early 17th century) turned pejorative by the end of that century.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) The same year 1547 has the spirit of a text as against its letter, followed by ''esprit de contradiction'' (1585) and the spirit of a group, Pascal's ''l'esprit de la Société'' (1656).^(TLFi) In Greek grammar the breathings are ''esprits'' from 1655, and ''présence d'esprit'' dates from 1671.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ English borrowed it in the 1590s as ''esprit'' “liveliness, wit”, and ''esprit de corps'' is recorded in English from 1780.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * late 10th century – The Latin form ''spiritus'' in the ''Passion de Clermont''.^(TLFi)

+ * early 12th century – ''Espirit'' in the ''Oxford Psalter''.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1155 – The intellect; an imaginary being, in Wace.^(TLFi)

+ * 1309 – ''Rendre son esprit'' “to die”.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 14th century – The form ''esprit''.^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+ * 1370 – Vital spirits, in Oresme.^(TLFi)

+ * 1458 – A ghost, in Gréban's ''Passion''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1547 – Wit, liveliness, in Noël du Fail.^(TLFi)

+ * 1575 – ''Esprit de vin'' in Ambroise Paré.^(TLFi)

+ * 1590s – English ''esprit'' “wit”.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1655 – The Greek breathings, in Lancelot.^(TLFi)

+ * 1656 – The spirit of a group, in Pascal.^(TLFi)

+ * 1671 – ''Présence d'esprit''.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1865 – ''Esprit frappeur''.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(Christianity)'' The Spirit of God, ''le Saint-Esprit'', the [[m|en|Holy Spirit]].^(Le Robert)

+ # An immaterial being; a [[m|en|ghost]]: ''un château hanté par les esprits''.^(Larousse)

+ # The [[m|en|mind]], the incorporeal part of a person as opposed to the body.^(Larousse)^(Wiktionary)

+ # The intellect, intelligence; the mind as the seat of thought: ''une idée me vient à l'esprit''.^(Larousse)^(Wiktionary)

+ # [[m|en|wit]], liveliness: ''avoir de l'esprit'', ''faire de l'esprit'', ''un mot d'esprit''.^(TLFi)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A person considered for their mind: ''un esprit fort'', ''un bel esprit''.^(Wiktionary)^(DHLF 1992)

+ # A disposition or attitude: ''esprit d'équipe'', ''esprit de contradiction''.^(Wiktionary)^(TLFi)

+ # The real sense or intent of a text or law, as against its letter.^(TLFi)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(plural)'' One's senses: ''perdre'', ''reprendre ses esprits''.^(DHLF 1992)

+ # ''(Greek grammar)'' A [[m|en|breathing]] mark: ''esprit doux'', ''esprit rude''.^(Littré 1873)^(TLFi)

+ # ''(archaic, chemistry)'' A volatile product of distillation: ''esprit de vin''.^(TLFi)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[spirituel]]

+ * [[spiritueux]]

+ * [[la|spīritus]]

+ * [[en|esprit]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}