souffrir French · revision 16517

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 1050, Vie de saint Alexis (sofrir)|origins=la ferō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /su.fʁiʁ/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''souffrir'''^(Wiktionary)

+ Old French ''sofrir'' (about 1050), ''suffrir'' (1080), ''souffrir'' (about 1112); beside them ''soferre'' (about 1150), from Latin ''sufferre'' directly, lasting into the 16th century.^(Grand Robert 2005)^(GLLF 1989)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|fro|sofrir]], [[inh|la-vul|*sufferiō|alt=*sufferīre]], an alteration by change of conjugation of classical [[m|la|sufferō|t=to bear, endure]], from [[m|la|sub-|t=under]] and [[m|la|ferō|t=to carry]].^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(Wiktionary)^(FEW|12, 399b) “Ferō” goes back, like [[grc|φέρω|tr=phérō]], to the Indo-European root “*bʰer-” “to carry”.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ Cognate with [[it|soffrire]], [[ca|sofrir]], [[es|sufrir]], [[pt|sofrer]] and [[ro|suferi]].^(DHLF 1992)^(REW 1935)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ In the ''Vie de saint Alexis'' (about 1050) it means to bear, endure something painful; the ''Chanson de Roland'' says ''ceste bataille est mult fort a sufrir''.^(TLFi)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Its first sense, “to bear”, covered both sustaining a fight (''souffrir un assaut'', still in the Académie's dictionary of 1694) and enduring pain.^(DHLF 1992) About 1135 it meant “to allow, permit” (''souffrir que'', about 1170), whence ''ne pas pouvoir souffrir quelqu'un'' “to be unable to stand someone” (1677) and ''le papier souffre tout'' (1548).^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) Christ's suffering appears in Philippe de Thaon (1121–34), and ''souffrir mort et passion'' in 1283.^(TLFi) The intransitive sense, “to feel pain”, is first found about 1480, ''souffrir de'' an illness dates from 1498–1515, and of things, “to be damaged”, from La Fontaine (1668).^(TLFi) Until the 17th century ''souffrir'' competed with ''douloir'', which disappeared in the middle of that century.^(TLFi)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1050 – ''Sofrir'' “to endure”, ''Vie de saint Alexis''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1121–34 – Of Christ's martyrdom, Philippe de Thaon.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1135 – “To allow”.^(TLFi)

+ * 12th century – ''Souffrance'', ''souffrant''.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+ * c. 1480 – Intransitive “to suffer pain”.^(TLFi)

+ * 1646 – ''Souffre-douleur''.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+ * 1677 – ''Ne pas pouvoir souffrir quelqu'un''.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To [[m|en|suffer]], be in pain: ''il souffre beaucoup'', ''souffrir de la tête''.^(Larousse)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''Souffrir de'': to suffer from (an illness, a lack); of things, to be damaged by: ''les vignes ont souffert du gel''.^(TLFi)^(Larousse)

+ # ''(literary)'' To [[m|en|endure]], bear: ''souffrir le martyre''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''Ne pas pouvoir souffrir'': to be unable to stand: ''je ne peux pas le souffrir''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(DHLF 1992)

+ # ''(literary)'' To allow, tolerate: ''souffrez que je vous dise''; to admit: ''cela ne souffre aucun retard''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[souffrance]]

+ * [[souffrant]]

+ * [[souffre-douleur]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[offrir]]

+ * [[conférer]]

+ * [[la|sufferō]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}