grave French · revision 16512

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=early 14th century, Aimé du Mont-Cassin|origins=la gravis}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ɡʁav/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''grave''' (plural graves)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la|gravis|t=heavy; low (of a sound); weighty, serious; dignified]].^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(FEW|4, 265a) It ousted the inherited adjective [[grief]], “griève”, its doublet, which lasted until the 17th century and survives in [[grièvement]].^(TLFi)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Wiktionary) Latin “gravis” belongs to an Indo-European family meaning “heavy”, with [[grc|βαρύς|tr=barús]] (whence [[baryton]]).^(DHLF 1992)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Its first record, early in the 14th century in Aimé du Mont-Cassin's ''Ystoire de li Normant'', has the sense “important, of consequence”.^(TLFi)^(Grand Robert 2005)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In the 15th century it was applied to sounds, and in grammar (1533) to the ''accent grave''.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) From 1542 it describes a person who behaves with dignity and reserve, and then serious looks, thought and style.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) The sense “likely to have bad consequences” dates from 1580, ''faute grave'' and ''péché grave'' from 1690, and of an illness or wound from 1764.^(DHLF 1992)^(GLLF 1989) The physical sense “heavy” was revived in 17th-century physics, ''les corps graves''.^(TLFi)^(Grand Robert 2005) In recent familiar speech ''grave'' is an adverb, “a lot, really” (''il a flippé grave''), and also an adjective “stupid”, probably from ''gravement atteint''.^(DHLF 1992)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Early 14th century – “Important”.^(TLFi)

+ * 1396 – ''Gravement''.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 15th century – Of a sound, “low”.^(TLFi)

+ * 1533 – ''Accent grave''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1542 – Of a person, “serious, dignified”.^(TLFi)

+ * 1580 – “Having serious consequences”.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1690 – ''Faute grave'', ''les corps graves'' in physics.^(DHLF 1992)^(TLFi)

+ * 1764 – Of an illness.^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # [[m|en|serious]], grave; important: ''un grave problème'', ''une faute grave''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Dangerous, critical: ''une maladie grave'', ''un accident grave'', ''ce n'est pas grave''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Larousse)

+ # [[m|en|solemn]], dignified: ''un air grave'', ''parler d'un ton grave''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Of a sound or voice, deep, [[m|en|low-pitched]]: ''une voix grave''.^(Wiktionary)^(Larousse)

+ # ''(grammar)'' ''Accent grave'': the grave accent (è).^(TLFi)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(physics, dated)'' Heavy: ''les corps graves''.^(TLFi)^(Grand Robert 2005)

+ # ''(slang)'' Stupid, crazy.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ===Adverb===

+ # ''(slang)'' A lot, really: ''il a flippé grave''.^(DHLF 1992)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[gravement]]

+ * [[gravissime]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[gravitation]]

+ * [[gravité]]

+ * [[graviter]]

+ * [[aggraver]]

+ * [[grief]]

+ * [[grièvement]]

+ * [[la|gravis]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ A separate noun ''grave'' (1380 “gravel”, 1530 “shore”) is a variant of [[grève]]; it survives in road building for a mixture of gravel and sand, and in the plural ''graves'' for the gravelly soils of the Bordeaux region.^(Grand Robert 2005)^(Larousse)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}