sœur French · revision 16455

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 1100, Chanson de Roland (soer, sorur)|origins=ine-pro *swésōr}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /sœʁ/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''sœur''' ''f'' (plural sœurs)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old French nominative [[m|fro|soer]], [[m|fro|suer]] (about 1130), ''seur'' (late 13th century); oblique [[m|fro|seror]], [[m|fro|sorur]]; the spelling ''sœur'' dates from 1549.^(DHLF 1992)^(GLLF 1989)^(TLFi)

+ ''Soeur'', without the ligature, is a nonstandard spelling.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|fro|suer]], [[inh|la|soror|t=sister; cousin]].^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) Old French had the nominative “suer” from “soror” and the oblique “seror” from the accusative “sorōrem”; unusually it was the nominative that survived, because it was so often used in addressing someone.^(TLFi)^(Littré 1873)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) The Latin word goes back to [[ine-pro|*swésōr]], whose root Rey connects with “*swe-”, marking a person's belonging to a group; it is also the source of [[got|𐍃𐍅𐌹𐍃𐍄𐌰𐍂|tr=swistar]], [[en|sister]] and [[de|Schwester]].^(Wiktionary)^(DHLF 1992)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+

+ Cognate with [[ro|soră]], [[it|suora|t=nun]], [[oc|sorre]], [[ca|sor|t=nun]], [[es|sor|t=nun]] and [[pt|sóror]]; the ordinary Italian word is [[m|it|sorella]].^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The ''Chanson de Roland'' (about 1100) has both forms, ''sorur'' and ''soer'': ''Se puis veïr ma gente sorur Alde'' (“if I may see my noble sister Aude”); the same poem uses it as a term of affection.^(TLFi)^(Littré 1873) Rey dates the oblique ''seror'' to about 1050.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Legal French distinguished the ''sœur germaine'' (1200), with both parents in common, from the ''sœur utérine'' (1455), and ''demie-seur'' is found in 1424, ''sœur de lait'', a foster sister, dates from 1538.^(DHLF 1992) About 1225 Gautier de Coinci uses ''suer'' for a nun, and ''sœurs de la Charité'' is in Richelet (1680); Christians called one another ''sœurs'' in 1533.^(TLFi)^(GLLF 1989) Ronsard calls the Muses ''les neuf sœurs'' (1550), Du Bellay ''les doctes sœurs'' (1552), and Grévin calls the Fates ''les trois fatales sœurs'' (1561).^(TLFi)

+

+ Molière has ''sœurs d'infortune'' (1671), and in 1694 the Académie records it as the name kings gave queens in their letters.^(TLFi) The ironic ''et ta sœur !'' comes from soldiers' slang (1833).^(Petit Robert 2007) In African French the word can also be used for a female cousin or a relative of the same age.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1100 – ''Sorur'', ''soer'' in the ''Chanson de Roland''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1200 – ''Sœur germaine''.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * c. 1225 – “Nun”, in Gautier de Coinci.^(TLFi)

+ * 1424 – ''Demie-seur'' “half-sister”.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1458 – The derivative ''sœurette'', of nuns.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+ * 1549 – The spelling ''sœur''.^(DHLF 1992)^(GLLF 1989)

+ * 1550 – ''Les neuf sœurs'', the Muses, in Ronsard.^(TLFi)

+ * 1671 – ''Sœurs d'infortune'' in Molière.^(TLFi)

+ * 1833 – ''Et ta sœur !'' in soldiers' slang.^(Petit Robert 2007)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|sister]]: ''sœur aînée'', ''sœur cadette'', ''grande sœur'', ''petite sœur''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Le Robert)

+ # A half-sister.^(Larousse)

+ # A woman who shares another's fate: ''sœur d'infortune''.^(Larousse)^(TLFi)

+ # ''(literary)'' A thing closely akin to another: ''l'envie et la calomnie sont sœurs''.^(Larousse)

+ # A [[m|en|nun]]; the title given to nuns: ''ma sœur'', ''sœur Marie''.^(Larousse)^(TLFi)

+ # ''Âme sœur'': a [[m|en|soulmate]].^(Larousse)

+ # ''(familiar)'' ''Et ta sœur ?'': an ironic refusal.^(Le Robert)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # ''(Africa)'' A female cousin or relative of one's own age.^(DHLF 1992)

+ # ''(mythology)'' ''Les neuf sœurs'': the Muses.^(Petit Robert 2007)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[sœurette]]

+ * [[belle-sœur]]

+ * [[demi-sœur]]

+ * [[consœur]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[sororal]]

+ * [[sororité]]

+ * [[la|soror]]

+ * [[en|sister]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}