amant French · revision 16941

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=c. 1160, Roman d'Eneas|origins=la amo}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /a.mɑ̃/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''amant''' ''m'' (plural amants, feminine amante)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is the present participle, used as a noun, of [[m|fro|amer]], the old form of [[aimer]],^(TLFi)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(GLLF 1989)^(Petit Robert 2007) which continues [[la|amō|t=to love]].^(Wiktionary) Wiktionary instead treats it as borrowed from the Latin present participle [[m|la|amāns]], and compares [[aimant]], the participle of the modern verb.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ Compare [[pro|amans]], [[es|amante]] and [[it|amante]].^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The ''Roman d'Eneas'' (about 1160) has ''De lui feïsse mon amant'' (“I would have made him my lover”): a man who loves a woman, tells her so, and is loved by her.^(TLFi) The feminine ''amante'' is in ''Amadas et Ydoine'' (early 13th century).^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Courtly lyric speaks of the ''fins amans'', the true lovers who must have joy by love's judgment (Couci, 12th century).^(Littré 1873) The sense “one who loves and is loved”, without any idea of illicit love, was very common in the 17th century: Rodrigue is the ''amant'' of Chimène, Junie the ''amante'' of Britannicus.^(TLFi)^(GLLF 1989) The dictionaries of the late 19th century call it old-fashioned.^(TLFi)

+

+ The modern sense, a man who has a woman's favours without being married to her, is in La Rochefoucauld's ''Maximes'' (1664–1678) and Molière's ''Misanthrope'' (1667): ''On a des amants quand on veut en avoir''.^(TLFi)^(Petit Robert 2007)^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1160 – ''Amant'' in the ''Roman d'Eneas''.^(TLFi)

+ * Early 13th century – ''Amante''.^(TLFi)

+ * 17th century – Very common for a courting lover.^(TLFi)

+ * 1667 – The modern sense, in Molière's ''Misanthrope''.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A man's or woman's [[m|en|lover]] outside marriage: ''Elle a pris un amant'', ''amant de cœur'', ''ils sont amant et maîtresse''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''Les amants'' (plural): a couple of lovers.^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # ''(dated, literary)'' One who loves and is loved; a [[m|en|suitor]].^(Petit Robert 2007)^(GLLF 1989)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(dated, or Canada)'' A lover of something, an enthusiast.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[amour]]

+ * [[aimer]]

+ * [[aimant]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}