éviter French · revision 16546

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1324, Métiers de Paris (eviter à)|origins=la vītō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /e.vi.te/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''éviter'''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la|ēvītō|t=to avoid, shun]], formed from [[m|la|ē-|t=out]] and [[m|la|vītō|t=to avoid, keep clear of]].^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(GLLF 1989)^(Wiktionary)^(FEW|3, 253a) Rey finds “vītō” without a clear etymology, unless it is a frequentative of “viēre” “to bend, plait”.^(DHLF 1992) Littré related it to the stem of [[inviter]].^(Littré 1873)

+

+ Compare [[pro|evitar]], [[es|evitar]] and [[it|evitare]].^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A text of the Paris crafts of 1324 has ''eviter et obvier à toutes malefaçons'', with the indirect construction ''éviter à'' “to guard against”.^(TLFi)^(BHVF)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ ''Éviter à'' was in use until the 16th century, probably on the model of ''échapper à'', and survives in law (''éviter aux frais'') and at sea, where a ship ''évite'' when it swings with the wind or tide.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(DHLF 1992)^(Petit Robert 2007) The transitive “to flee something” is found in 1459.^(TLFi) In the 16th century it came to mean to ward off a threat, to escape a situation, to keep away from someone and to dodge a blow, Amyot has ''ce qu'il nous faut fuir et eviter''.^(DHLF 1992)^(Littré 1873) The construction ''éviter quelque chose à quelqu'un'' “to spare someone something” dates from about 1587 (Du Vair).^(DHLF 1992)^(GLLF 1989) ''Voie d'évitement'' is a railway siding (1836).^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1324 – ''Eviter à'', Métiers de Paris.^(TLFi)

+ * 1377 – ''Inévitable''.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1459 – Transitive “to flee”.^(TLFi)

+ * 1538 – ''Évitement''.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+ * c. 1587 – ''Éviter quelque chose à quelqu'un'', Du Vair.^(GLLF 1989)

+ * 1772 – ''Évitage'', of a ship.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1836 – ''Voie d'évitement''.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To [[m|en|avoid]], keep away from: ''éviter quelqu'un'', ''éviter un obstacle'', ''éviter le regard de quelqu'un''.^(GLLF 1989)^(Wiktionary)

+ # To escape, avert, prevent: ''éviter un accident'', ''éviter de'' with the infinitive, to avoid doing.^(Wiktionary)^(Littré 1873)

+ # To [[m|en|dodge]]: ''éviter un coup''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''Éviter quelque chose à quelqu'un'': to spare someone something: ''cela vous évitera un voyage''.^(DHLF 1992)^(GLLF 1989)

+ # ''(nautical)'' Of a ship at anchor, to swing round with the wind or tide.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Larousse)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[évitable]]

+ * [[évitement]]

+ * [[évitage]]

+ * [[inévitable]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[la|ēvītō]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}