pur French · revision 16618

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=late 10th century, Passion de Clermont (pura)|origins=la pūrus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /pyʁ/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''pur''' (feminine pure, masculine plural purs, feminine plural pures)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la|pūrus|t=spotless, unstained; clean, clear; unmixed]].^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Wiktionary)^(FEW|9, 618b) The Latin word belonged above all to religious language, like its Greek counterpart [[grc|καθαρός|tr=katharós]], and goes back to an Indo-European root seen in [[sa|पूत|tr=pūtá|t=purified]].^(DHLF 1992)^(Petit Robert 2007) A comparison with [[sga|úr|t=green, fresh]] remains hypothetical.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ Cognate with [[ro|pur]], [[oc|pur]], [[ca|pur]], [[it|puro]], [[es|puro]] and [[pt|puro]].^(Petit Robert 2007)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The ''Passion de Clermont'' (late 10th century) uses ''pura'' in the abstract sense “complete, unmixed”, of faith.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Wace (about 1130–1155) has it in the moral sense “spotless, chaste”, and in Chrétien de Troyes (1170–1176) it is “unmixed” and “flawless”: ''vin pur'', ''air pur''.^(TLFi)^(GLLF 1989) ''Pur de'' “free from” dates from about 1225.^(TLFi) Before a noun it means “nothing but”, as in Oresme's ''pure perece'' (1370), ''en pure perte'' (1509) and ''pur et simple''.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ Philosophy speaks of ''état de pure nature'' (1736), and ''la Raison pure'' translates Kant, opposed to practical, ''science pure'' and ''art pur'' are pursued for their own sake.^(DHLF 1992)^(Petit Robert 2007) A writer's style is ''pur'' in Richelet (1688), and ''de pure race'' is in Hugo (1832).^(TLFi) In 1721 Montesquieu used ''un pur'' for one who professes orthodox doctrine; today ''pur et dur'' describes an uncompromising militant.^(TLFi)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * late 10th century – ''Pura'', of faith, ''Passion de Clermont''.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1130–1140 – “Chaste”, Wace.^(TLFi)

+ * 1170 – “Unmixed”, Chrétien de Troyes.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1225 – ''Pur de'' “free from”.^(TLFi)

+ * 1370 – ''Pure perece'' “sheer laziness”, Oresme.^(TLFi)

+ * 1509 – ''En pure perte''.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1688 – Of a writer's style, Richelet.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # [[m|en|pure]], unmixed: ''vin pur'', ''or pur'', ''de l'eau pure''; clear: ''un ciel pur'', ''air pur''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)^(GLLF 1989)

+ # Morally pure, chaste, innocent: ''une âme pure'', ''des intentions pures''.^(DHLF 1992)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # ''(before the noun)'' Sheer, mere: ''une pure folie'', ''pur et simple'', ''en pure perte''.^(DHLF 1992)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # Theoretical, pursued for its own sake: ''science pure'', ''mathématiques pures'', ''la Raison pure''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(DHLF 1992)

+ # Correct, faultless (of language or style); flawless (of lines or features).^(TLFi)^(GLLF 1989)

+ # ''Pur et dur'': hard-line, uncompromising.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[pureté]]

+ * [[purement]]

+ * [[puriste]]

+ * [[purisme]]

+ * [[impur]]

+ * [[apurer]]

+ * [[épurer]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[purifier]]

+ * [[purger]]

+ * [[pur-sang]]

+ * [[la|pūrus]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}