acte French · revision 16802

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1338, cartulary of Saint-Pierre de Lille|origins=la agō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /akt/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''acte''' ''m'' (plural actes)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a borrowing from Latin, with senses from two related nouns.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Petit Robert 2007) The legal sense (1338) is [[bor|la|āctum|t=deed; in the plural, records]], the past participle of [[m|la|agō|t=to do, act]] used as a noun, usually in the plural, which in Medieval Latin came to mean a legal document, like the word for a charter (see [[charte]]).^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(FEW|24, 113b) The sense “deed, act” as opposed to word (1504) has the same origin.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(GLLF 1989) The theatrical sense (16th century) is from [[m|la|āctus|t=a doing; stage action; act of a play]].^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Petit Robert 2007)^(FEW|1, 24a)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ Rey explains that the Latin verb first meant “to drive before one”, as distinct from [[m|la|dūcō]] “to lead from the front”, words of a pastoral people; it corresponds to [[grc|ἄγω|tr=ágō]].^(DHLF 1992) The verb [[agir]] was borrowed a century later.^(DHLF 1992) Compare [[it|atto]] and [[es|auto|t=decree; religious play]].^(REW 1935)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The cartulary of Saint-Pierre de Lille (1338) has ''les lettres et actes produites en manieres de prueve'', “the letters and records produced as proof”.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The legal sense, a written document recording facts or an agreement, led to technical uses: a declaration before a court (1549), a decision of a public authority (1690), and ''actes'' of the English Parliament (1619), after English ''act''.^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(TLFi) ''Faire acte d'héritier'' is to act as heir.^(Petit Robert 2007)

+

+ In Lemaire de Belges (1504) it is a deed as opposed to words, a manifestation of the will;^(GLLF 1989)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Littré 1873) Montaigne speaks of ''actes hazardeux''.^(GLLF 1989)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Littré 1873) The theatre sense is in Montaigne's ''le dernier acte d'une comedie'' and dated 1553 by the Petit Robert; [[entracte]] dates from 1622.^(Littré 1873)^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) In the 20th century ''l'acte'' is also the sexual act (Mauriac).^(BHVF)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1338 – A written legal record, Lille.^(TLFi)

+ * 1504 – A deed, Lemaire de Belges.^(GLLF 1989)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+ * 1549 – A declaration before a court.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1553 – An act of a play.^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ * 1619 – ''Actes'' of the English Parliament.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+ * 1622 – [[entracte]].^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+ * 1690 – A decision of public authority.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # An [[m|en|act]], a [[m|en|deed]], an action: ''passer des paroles aux actes'', ''acte de bonne volonté''.^(GLLF 1989)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(law)'' A legal act; a document recording a fact or agreement: ''acte de vente'', ''actes de l'état civil'', birth, marriage and death certificates.^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # ''Faire acte de'': to act as: ''faire acte d'héritier, de propriétaire''.^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # An act of a play: ''les tragédies classiques comportent cinq actes''; figuratively, a phase of an affair.^(Petit Robert 2007)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[entracte]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[agir]]

+ * [[action]]

+ * [[acteur]]

+ * [[actif]]

+ * [[la|agō]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}