faute French · revision 16506

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=1174–78, Étienne de Fougères, Livre des manières|origins=la fallō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /fot/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''faute''' ''f'' (plural fautes)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la-vul|*fallita|t=lack; failing]], the feminine noun use of “*fallitus”, which replaced classical [[m|la|falsus]], past participle of [[m|la|fallō|t=to deceive, (later) to be lacking]].^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Wiktionary)^(FEW|3, 389b) It ousted the older [[faille]].^(TLFi) The same Latin verb gave [[faillir]] and [[falloir]], Wiktionary calls “faute” a doublet of [[faillite]].^(Grand Robert 2005)^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ Cognate with [[pro|falta]], [[ca|falta]], [[es|falta]], [[pt|falta]] and [[roa-oit|falta]]; compare [[en|fault]].^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(REW 1935)^(Wiktionary)^(AND)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Its first record, in Étienne de Fougères' ''Livre des manières'' (1174–78), has the sense of failing, a moral lapse.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ It first meant a failure to keep the rules of religion, whence ''la Faute'', the sin of Adam and Eve, or of morality; it was used especially of sexual relations outside marriage and, in the 19th century, of a woman's seduction.^(DHLF 1992) From 1538 it meant a breach of the rules of an art or discipline (''faute d'orthographe''), and ''faute de goût'' dates from 1665.^(DHLF 1992)^(GLLF 1989) ''C'est ma faute'' is found in the mid-16th century.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ Like the Latin verb, it also meant lack, absence (Jean de Meun, 1275–80), a sense kept in ''sans faute'' “without fail” (Joinville, 1306), ''faute de'' “for want of” (1636) and ''ne pas se faire faute de'' “not to fail to”.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Petit Robert 2007) In sport it is a foul or a fault, and a ''sans-faute'' is a clear round, first in show jumping (1968).^(Wiktionary)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1174–78 – A moral failing, Étienne de Fougères.^(TLFi)

+ * 1275–80 – “Lack”, Jean de Meun.^(TLFi)

+ * 1306 – ''Sans faute'', Joinville.^(TLFi)

+ * 1538 – A breach of the rules of an art.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1636 – ''Faute de'' “for want of”.^(DHLF 1992)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ * 1665 – ''Faute de goût''.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1968 – ''Parcours sans faute''.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|mistake]], error: ''faute d'orthographe'', ''faute de frappe''.^(Wiktionary)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # A [[m|en|fault]], misdeed, wrongdoing; responsibility, blame: ''c'est ma faute'', ''prendre en faute''.^(Wiktionary)^(GLLF 1989)

+ # ''(law)'' A wrong, a breach: ''faute grave''.^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(sports)'' A foul, a fault: ''double faute''.^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''Faute de'': for want of: ''faute de mieux'', ''faute de temps'', ''sans faute'': without fail.^(Wiktionary)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # ''(dated)'' Lack: ''ne pas se faire faute de'', not to hesitate to.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[fautif]]

+ * [[fauter]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[faillir]]

+ * [[falloir]]

+ * [[faillite]]

+ * [[faux]]

+ * [[défaut]]

+ * [[en|fault]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ The proverb ''faute avouée est à moitié pardonnée'' means “a fault confessed is half forgiven”.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}