position French · revision 16698

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1269–78, Jean de Meun, Roman de la Rose (posicions)|origins=la pōnō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /po.zi.sjɔ̃/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''position''' ''f'' (plural positions)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old French ''posicion''.^(DHLF 1992)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la|positiō|t=a placing, setting; position, situation; frame of mind; thesis; grammatical ending]],^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(FEW|9, 230b) the noun of action formed on [[m|la|positum]], the supine of [[m|la|pōnō|t=to place, put]] (see [[pondre]], [[positif]]).^(DHLF 1992)^(GLLF 1989) In Latin it applied especially to planting and grafting, and by metonymy to a place or situation.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Jean de Meun's part of the ''Roman de la Rose'' (1269–78) has ''posicions'' for the situation or place of a thing.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Beaumanoir (1283) has it for the points argued in a lawsuit, and Eustache Deschamps (1392) as a grammatical term, ''syllabe longue par position'' is in Furetière (1690).^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) From the 17th century the word took many special values: the way a thing is placed (François de Sales, 1616), the bearing of the body in painting (1668), dance (1690), riding (1762) and music (1768), the siting of a building (1690), and astronomy (1690).^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) The military sense, ground chosen to hold troops, appears in 1798, with ''position-clef'' (1941) and ''position stratégique'' (1952) later used figuratively.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ Of persons it came to mean a set of circumstances (Voltaire, 1751), a social situation (Rousseau, 1774), ''être en position de'' (Balzac, 1830), a paid post (Balzac, 1846), a stance or point of view (Balzac, 1841) and, euphemistically, ''être dans une position intéressante'' “to be pregnant” (Zola, 1887).^(TLFi)^(BHVF) Modern technical uses include ''feux de position'' on a vehicle (1906) and banking (1930).^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1269–78 – “Place, situation”, Jean de Meun.^(TLFi)

+ * 1283 – Legal theses, Beaumanoir.^(TLFi)

+ * 1392 – Grammar, Eustache Deschamps.^(TLFi)

+ * 1616 – “Manner of placing”, François de Sales.^(TLFi)

+ * 1690 – Astronomy; dance, Furetière.^(TLFi)

+ * 1798 – Military position, Académie.^(TLFi)

+ * 1841 – “Point of view”, Balzac.^(TLFi)

+ * 1846 – “Job, post”, Balzac.^(TLFi)

+ * 1887 – ''Position intéressante'', Zola.^(TLFi)

+ * 1906 – ''Feux de position''.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The way a thing or person is placed; [[m|en|position]], [[m|en|posture]]: ''position verticale'', ''en position assise''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A place, location; a rank in a classification: ''arriver en première position''.^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # ''(military)'' Ground held by troops: ''position stratégique'', ''guerre de position''.^(TLFi)^(GLLF 1989)

+ # A situation, circumstances: ''être en position de force'', ''être en position de'', to be in a position to.^(TLFi)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # Social standing, ''(dated)'' a post, situation.^(TLFi)^(GLLF 1989)

+ # A [[m|en|stance]], point of view: ''prendre position''.^(TLFi)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # ''(finance)'' The balance of an account.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[positionner]]

+ * [[positionnement]]

+ * [[repositionner]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[poser]]

+ * [[positif]]

+ * [[pondre]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}