attraper French · revision 16583

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=c. 1165 (atraper)|origins=frk *trappa}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /a.tʁa.pe/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''attraper'''^(Wiktionary)

+ Old French [[m|fro|atraper]] (about 1165); ''attraper'' from the 14th century.^(Grand Robert 2005)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is formed from [[trappe]] “trap” with the prefix [[a-]] and a verb ending: “to catch in a trap”.^(DHLF 1992)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(FEW|17, 355b) “Trappe” is from West Germanic, perhaps Frankish, [[frk|*trappa]], related to [[dum|trappe|t=noose]].^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(REW 1935)

+

+ Compare [[pro|atrapar]], from which [[es|atrapar]] and [[it|attrappare]] were taken.^(REW 1935)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ About 1165–70 it means to catch in a trap, a sense used until the 14th century and still by La Fontaine; about 1200 it is used for seizing a person or animal.^(DHLF 1992)^(GLLF 1989)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Early on, in Picard about 1200, it also meant to trick someone; later it meant to entice (1465) and to catch in the act (1564).^(DHLF 1992) In classical French it meant to obtain, reach, often by cunning (''attraper son but'', Racine, 1669), to grasp with the mind (1689) and to get to the end of something (1678).^(DHLF 1992) ''Attraper'' also meant to hit (Scarron, 1644).^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ Catching an illness (''attraper un rhume'') and catching a ball or a train belong to the general sense “to catch”, Delvau (1864) has it for scolding someone, and ''s'attraper'' “to quarrel” is from 1878.^(GLLF 1989)^(BHVF)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1165 – ''Atraper'' “to catch in a trap”.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * c. 1200 – To seize; to trick.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 14th century – ''Attraper''; the derivative ''attrape''.^(Grand Robert 2005)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+ * 1644 – To hit, Scarron.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1669 – ''Attraper son but'', Racine.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1864 – To scold, Delvau.^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To [[m|en|catch]] (a person, an animal, a ball): ''attraper un voleur'', ''attraper une balle''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # To catch (an illness): ''attraper un rhume'', ''attraper froid''.^(Wiktionary)

+ # To catch (a train, a bus).^(Wiktionary)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # To trick, fool: ''il m'a bien attrapé''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(GLLF 1989)

+ # ''(familiar)'' To [[m|en|scold]], tell off.^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[attrape]]

+ * [[attrapeur]]

+ * [[attrape-nigaud]]

+ * [[rattraper]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[trappe]]

+ * [[trappeur]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}