prétendre French · revision 16927

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1320, Isambert|origins=la tendo}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /pʁe.tɑ̃dʁ/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''prétendre'''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la|praetendō|t=to stretch forth; to allege, plead as a pretext]].^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) The Latin verb is formed from [[m|la|prae|t=before]] and [[m|la|tendō|t=to stretch]], and meant properly “to hold out in front, to lie in front”.^(DHLF 1992)^(GLLF 1989) It took the figurative sense “to allege, put forward as an excuse” in classical times, “to claim (a debt)” in Late Latin, in Justinian's “Digest”, and “to assert firmly” in Medieval Latin (1310).^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ In 1320, in a royal ordinance, ''pretendre de'' meant “to demand, claim (a right)”.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ From “to claim as one's due” it moved to “to aspire to” (1409), especially in ''prétendre à'' with a noun or an infinitive (1470); ''prétendre à'' a woman, “to seek her hand”, is in Molière's ''L'Avare'' (1668) and has died out.^(DHLF 1992)^(TLFi) With an infinitive (about 1460) it came to mean “to intend firmly”, often with the shade of an unjustified or presumptuous claim.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ Already in Middle French (about 1380, Jean Le Fèvre) it was a verb of opinion, “to assert, maintain”; it takes a complement in Commynes (late 15th century) and the reflexive ''se prétendre'' “to claim to be” is in Voltaire's ''Candide'' (1759).^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) From it came [[prétendant]] (15th century) and the familiar ''prétendu'' “intended husband” (1650).^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) Louisiana French uses it for “to pretend”.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1320 – “To claim (a right)”, in a royal ordinance.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1380 – “To assert, maintain”, in Jean Le Fèvre.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1409 – ''Prétendre à'' “to aspire to”.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+ * c. 1460 – With an infinitive, “to intend firmly”, in Georges Chastellain.^(GLLF 1989)^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1668 – ''Prétendre à'' a woman, in Molière's ''L'Avare''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1669 – ''Prétendre que'' with the subjunctive, in Molière.^(TLFi)

+ * 1759 – ''Se prétendre'' “to claim to be”, in Voltaire.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To [[m|en|claim]], [[m|en|allege]]: maintain that something is so.^(Wiktionary)^(TLFi)

+ # To intend, have the firm intention of (with an infinitive), often presumptuously.^(DHLF 1992)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # ''Prétendre à'': to [[m|en|aspire]] to, lay claim to: ''prétendre à un titre''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(reflexive)'' ''Se prétendre'': to claim to be.^(Wiktionary)^(TLFi)

+ # ''(archaic, literary)'' To demand, claim as a right.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(DHLF 1992)

+ # ''(Louisiana)'' To [[m|en|pretend]].^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[prétendant]]

+ * [[prétendu]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[prétention]]

+ * [[tendre]]

+ * [[la|praetendō]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}