interroger French · revision 16817

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1355, an ordinance (interroguer)|origins=la rogō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ɛ̃.tɛ.ʁɔ.ʒe/^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA: /ɛ̃.te.ʁɔ.ʒe/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''interroger'''^(Wiktionary)

+ First ''interroguer'' (1355), remade as ''interroger'' in 1399.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la|interrogō|t=to ask; to question; to bring to trial]],^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(FEW|4, 761b)^(Wiktionary) which first meant “to ask the opinions of several people”, then “to question one person”, with legal and philosophical uses.^(DHLF 1992)^(Grand Robert 2005) It is formed from [[m|la|inter-]] and [[m|la|rogō|t=to address; to ask]] (see [[rogatoire]]), probably related to [[m|la|regō|t=to rule]].^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ The inherited Old French outcome was [[m|fro|enterver]] “to question; to understand” (about 1165), which the learned verb, supported by the rest of its family, eliminated; it survived in slang for “to understand” from Villon to the 18th century and became, by metathesis, [[entraver]] (1725).^(DHLF 1992)^(TLFi)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ An ordinance of 12 March 1355 has ''interrogueront'' in a legal context, the questioning of persons about their wealth and households.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The verb kept the Latin sense “to question someone”, first in law and then in general use.^(DHLF 1992) Rabelais (1532) has ''se interroguer'' “to wonder”, and Diderot (before 1784) ''s'interroger'' “to question oneself”.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) Racine (''Iphigénie'', 1674) uses it for examining a thing to find an answer: ''Des victimes vous-même interrogez le flanc''.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) Furetière (1690) records the school sense, an examiner questioning a pupil.^(TLFi)

+

+ Its learned family includes [[interrogatoire]] (1327), [[interrogation]] (13th century) and [[interrogatif]] (1507).^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1165 – The inherited form ''enterver''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1327 – [[interrogatoire]].^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+ * 1355 – ''Interroguer'', legal.^(TLFi)

+ * 1399 – The form ''interroger'', at Lille.^(TLFi)

+ * 1532 – ''Se interroguer'', Rabelais.^(TLFi)

+ * 1674 – “To examine for an answer”, Racine.^(TLFi)

+ * 1690 – School sense, Furetière.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To [[m|en|question]], [[m|en|interrogate]]: ''interroger un témoin, un prévenu''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # To ask someone for information: ''interroger quelqu'un sur ses intentions''.^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # To examine a pupil or candidate orally.^(TLFi)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # To examine a thing closely for an answer.^(TLFi)^(GLLF 1989)

+ # ''S'interroger'': to wonder, ask oneself.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[interrogation]]

+ * [[interrogatoire]]

+ * [[interrogatif]]

+ * [[entraver]]

+ * [[rogatoire]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}