débarrasser French · revision 16986

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1544, Catherine de Médicis, letters|origins=es embarazar}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /de.ba.ʁa.se/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''débarrasser'''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a shortening, by a change of prefix, of [[m|frm|desembarrasser]] (1535, in the customs of Ypres),^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) [[bor|es|desembarazar|t=to clear of what encumbers]] (1495, Nebrija), formed from [[m|es|embarazar|t=to hinder]], the source of [[embarrasser]].^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Wiktionary)^(FEW|1, 260a) The Grand Robert and the Petit Robert instead explain it from [[dé-]] and the stem of that verb, after [[it|sbarazzare]], a view Pierre Guiraud criticized.^(Grand Robert 2005)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+

+ The TLFi compares the first record, “debaracee de mon enfantement”, with the dialect use of [[embarrassé|alt=embarrassée]] for “pregnant” and [[m|es|embarazada|t=pregnant]].^(TLFi)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

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+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Catherine de Médicis writes in 1544 that she is ''debaracee de mon enfantement'', “delivered of my child”.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Grand Robert 2005)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ ''Se débarrasser de'' “to free oneself of” is recorded in 1584,^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) and the sense “to clear (a thing or place) of what clutters it” before 1655 (Cyrano de Bergerac).^(TLFi) The familiar ''débarrasser le plancher'' “to clear off” dates from 1843.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) Used alone the verb stands for ''débarrasser la table'', “to clear the table”.^(DHLF 1992) The Académie gave ''desbarrasser'' or ''desembarrasser'' in 1718 and also ''débarrasser'' in 1740.^(TLFi) In Swiss French it is also used for “to take away (something in the way)”.^(DHLF 1992)

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+ The noun [[débarras]], recorded by the Académie in 1798 as a noun of action, came to mean a lumber room (1810).^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1495 – Spanish ''desembarazar'' (Nebrija).^(TLFi)

+ * 1535 – ''Desembarrasser''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1544 – ''Debaracee'' in Catherine de Médicis.^(TLFi)

+ * 1584 – ''Se débarrasser de''.^(TLFi)

+ * Before 1655 – “To clear (a place)”, in Cyrano de Bergerac.^(TLFi)

+ * 1740 – The Académie records ''débarrasser''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1798 – ''Débarras''.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1843 – ''Débarrasser le plancher''.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To [[m|en|clear|alt=Clear]] (a place, a piece of furniture) of what clutters it: ''débarrasser la table'', or simply ''débarrasser'', to clear the table.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # To [[m|en|rid]] or relieve (someone) of something: ''débarrasser un visiteur de son manteau''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''Se débarrasser de'': to get rid of; to take off (a garment).^(Wiktionary)^(DHLF 1992)

+ # ''Débarrasser le plancher'' ''(familiar)'': to clear off, to leave.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[débarras]]

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+ ==Related words==

+ * [[embarrasser]]

+ * [[embarras]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}