gêner French · revision 16720

+ {{infobox|confidence=probable|formation=derivation|attested=1363 (gehenner)|origins=frk *jehhjan}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ʒɛ.ne/^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA: /ʒe.ne/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''gêner'''^(Wiktionary)

+ Middle French ''gehenner'' (1363, still in the 17th century), ''gehiner'' (1381), ''jehisner'', ''gesner'' from the 16th to the 18th century, ''gêner'' from 1530.^(TLFi)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[af|fr|gêne|-er]].^(TLFi)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Wiktionary) The noun [[gêne]] is a Renaissance remaking (1538) of [[m|frm|gehenne]] (1390), itself Old French [[m|fro|gehine|t=torture to extract a confession]] (about 1200) altered under the influence of [[géhenne|t=Gehenna, hell]].^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) That noun was formed from the Old French verb [[m|fro|gehir|t=to confess]] (early 12th century), which goes back to [[frk|*jehhjan|t=to say, confess]], compare [[goh|jehan|t=to confess]].^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) Pierre Guiraud proposed instead a Latin [[m|la-vul|*jacina|t=bed (of torture)]] from [[la|iaceō|t=to lie]], with the Old French verb a crossing of the Frankish and Latin verbs, Rey reports the idea.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Its first sense was physical torture: ''jehisner'' “to confess under torture” (second half of the 14th century) and ''gehenner'' “to put to the torture” (1363, in the inventories of the Dukes of Burgundy).^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Like the noun, the verb kept strong meanings until the end of the 17th century: “to torment morally” (''gehainer'', 1515), “to cause physical discomfort, cramp” (Ronsard, 1569), “to hamper, constrain” (Du Bellay, 1549) and “to impose a moral constraint” (Ronsard, 1565).^(TLFi)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) Racine's ''Ah ! que vous me gênez !'' still means “how you torment me”.^(Petit Robert 2007) The modern weak sense “to embarrass, make ill at ease” is found in Saint-Évremond (before 1703), and ''être gêné'' “to be short of money” in 1768.^(TLFi) The derivative [[gêneur]] is recorded in 1868.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1363 – ''Gehenner'' “to torture”.^(TLFi)

+ * 1381 – ''Gehiner''.^(Grand Robert 2005)^(GLLF 1989)

+ * 1515 – “To torment morally”.^(TLFi)

+ * 1530 – The spelling ''gêner'', Palsgrave.^(Grand Robert 2005)

+ * 1549 – “To hamper, constrain”, Du Bellay.^(TLFi)

+ * 1569 – “To cause physical discomfort”, Ronsard.^(TLFi)

+ * Before 1703 – “To embarrass”, Saint-Évremond.^(TLFi)

+ * 1768 – ''Être gêné'' “to be hard up”.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Verb===

+ # ''(obsolete)'' To [[m|en|torture]]; to torment.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(GLLF 1989)

+ # To cause physical discomfort to, cramp: ''ces souliers me gênent''.^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # To [[m|en|hinder]], hamper, get in the way of: ''gêner la circulation''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # To [[m|en|bother]], inconvenience: ''est-ce que la fumée vous gêne ?''^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # To [[m|en|embarrass]], make ill at ease.^(TLFi)^(Wiktionary)

+ # To put in financial difficulty, ''être gêné'', to be short of money.^(TLFi)^(GLLF 1989)

+ # ''Se gêner'': to put oneself out, ''ne pas se gêner'', to make free.^(Wiktionary)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[gênant]]

+ * [[gêneur]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[gêne]]

+ * [[sans-gêne]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}