saint French · revision 16581

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=late 10th century, Vie de saint Léger (sanct)|origins=la sanciō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /sɛ̃/^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA: /sɛ̃.t‿/^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA (Quebec): /sẽ/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''saint''' ''m'' (plural saints, feminine sainte)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old French ''sanz'' (about 980), ''sancz'' (late 10th century), ''saint'' (about 1050), ''seint''.^(DHLF 1992)^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la|sanctus|t=made sacred, inviolable; holy]], the past participle of [[m|la|sanciō|t=to make sacred; to ratify]] (see [[sanction]]).^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(FEW|11, 149b) In Christian Latin “sanctus” took on the sense of [[grc|ἅγιος|tr=hágios|t=holy]], itself a rendering of [[hbo|קָדוֹשׁ|tr=qādôš]].^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ Cognate with [[it|santo]], [[es|santo]], [[pt|santo]], [[oc|sant]], [[ca|sant]] and [[ro|sânt]].^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The ''Vie de saint Léger'' (second half of the 10th century) has ''sanct Lethgier'', of a person admitted among the blessed; the ''Passion'' (late 10th century) has ''sanz spiritum'', the Holy Spirit.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ By about 1050 (''Vie de saint Alexis'') it was used of a person leading an exemplary moral and religious life (''saint home'') and of the Holy Trinity; the ''Chanson de Roland'' (about 1100) has ''seint pareis'' “holy paradise” and ''la feste seint Michel'', the saint's day.^(TLFi) Saints' days give names to festivals and popular dates: ''la Saint-Sylvestre'' (Balzac, 1833), ''la Saint-Nicolas'', ''la tous sainz'' became [[Toussaint]].^(TLFi)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ A ''saint'' was also a statue of a saint (about 1280).^(TLFi) Phrases include ''ne savoir à quel saint se vouer'' and ''prêcher pour son saint'' “to have an axe to grind” (1823).^(Petit Robert 2007)^(BHVF)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * late 10th century – ''Sanct Lethgier'', ''Vie de saint Léger''.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1050 – ''Saint home'', ''Vie de saint Alexis''.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1100 – ''La feste seint Michel'', ''Chanson de Roland''.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1280 – A statue of a saint.^(TLFi)

+ * 1823 – ''Prêcher pour son saint'', Boiste.^(BHVF)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # [[m|en|holy]], sacred: ''l'Écriture sainte'', ''la semaine sainte'', ''la Terre sainte''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Saint (before a name): ''saint Paul''; in place names and festivals with a capital and hyphen: ''Saint-Denis'', ''la Saint-Jean''.^(TLFi)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # Saintly, godly: ''une sainte femme''.^(Wiktionary)^(TLFi)

+ # ''(familiar, intensive)'' ''Toute la sainte journée'', the whole blessed day.^(Petit Robert 2007)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|saint]], ''la fête d'un saint'', ''ne savoir à quel saint se vouer'', not to know where to turn.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A saintly person.^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # ''Le saint des saints'': the [[m|en|holy of holies]].^(Petit Robert 2007)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[sainteté]]

+ * [[Toussaint]]

+ * [[saintement]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[sacré]]

+ * [[sanctifier]]

+ * [[sanctuaire]]

+ * [[sanction]]

+ * [[la|sanctus]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}