incroyable French · revision 16682

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=c. 1500, Commynes (increables)|origins=la crēdō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ɛ̃.kʁwa.jabl/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''incroyable''' (plural incroyables)^(Wiktionary)

+ Earlier ''increable'' (Commynes, about 1500; the Grand Robert and the GLLF date it to the 14th century); ''incroyable'' from 1513.^(TLFi)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[af|fr|in-|croyable]].^(TLFi)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)^(FEW|2, 1301a) Old French had a single [[m|fro|encreable]] (early 13th century), perhaps “untrustworthy”.^(TLFi) The base [[croyable]] is from [[croire]], which continues [[la|crēdō|t=to believe]].^(TLFi) Littré notes that [[m|frm|incredible]] was also once used.^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Commynes (about 1500) writes of ''choses increables du froit'' “things beyond belief about the cold”.^(TLFi)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Lemaire de Belges (1513) has ''magnificence incroyable'', and Rabelais (1552) uses it for what is out of the ordinary.^(TLFi) Dorat (1780) applies it to an odd, ridiculous person.^(TLFi) Under the Directory (1795) ''les Incroyables'' were young dandies who wore extravagant clothes and affected a particular way of speaking.^(TLFi)^(Wiktionary) The adverb [[incroyablement]] is mostly used as an intensive: ''incroyablement compliqué''.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Early 13th century – ''Encreable''.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1500 – ''Increables'', Commynes.^(TLFi)

+ * 1513 – ''Incroyable'', Lemaire de Belges.^(TLFi)

+ * 1552 – “Out of the ordinary”, Rabelais.^(TLFi)

+ * 1780 – Of a ridiculous person, Dorat.^(TLFi)

+ * 1795 – ''Les Incroyables''.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # [[m|en|incredible]], unbelievable, hard to believe: ''un récit incroyable'', ''incroyable mais vrai'', ''il est incroyable que''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Extraordinary, amazing, ''(familiar)'' outrageous: ''une chance incroyable''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(TLFi)

+ # Of a person, extravagant, odd.^(TLFi)^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(history)'' An ''Incroyable'': a dandy of the Directory period.^(TLFi)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[incroyablement]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[croyable]]

+ * [[croire]]

+ * [[incrédule]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}