ange French · revision 16994

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 980|origins=grc ἄγγελος}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ɑ̃ʒ/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''ange''' ''m'' (plural anges)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old French [[m|fro|angele]] (about 980), often altered to [[m|fro|angle]] and [[m|fro|angre]], and ''angel'' (12th–14th centuries); ''ange'' appears in the 13th century and drove out ''angele'' in the 16th.^(DHLF 1992)^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The Old French form [[m|fro|angele]] is [[bor|la-lat|angelus|t=messenger; angel]], a word of Christian Latin, from [[grc|ἄγγελος|tr=ángelos|t=messenger; messenger of God]], which was used to render the Hebrew word for “messenger” in the Bible (Exodus 23:20).^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Grand Robert 2005) Rey calls the Greek word of unknown origin, probably borrowed from an Eastern language.^(DHLF 1992) Bloch and Wartburg note that, as a word of the Church, its sound development was held back by the influence of written Latin;^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) Wiktionary treats it as inherited through Old French [[m|fro|ange]].^(Wiktionary) It is a doublet of [[angélus]].^(Wiktionary)

+

+ Cognate with [[ro|înger]], [[it|angelo]], [[oc|angel]], [[ca|àngel]], [[es|ángel]] and [[pt|anjo]].^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Littré 1873)^(REW 1935)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ ''Angele'' is found about 980;^(DHLF 1992) in the ''Chanson de Roland'' an angel brings a vision (''une avision d'angele'').^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Beside the theological idea of a messenger between God and men, popular imagery made the angel a young, beautiful winged being.^(DHLF 1992) By metaphor the word came to mean a perfect person, of a woman in the 16th century and then of a child, and a good, pious person (Pascal, 1657);^(DHLF 1992) ''mon ange'' as a term of affection goes back to Malherbe in the early 17th century.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ Religious phrases took on everyday meanings: ''bon ange'' and ''mauvais ange'' (1550), and ''ange gardien'' “protector” (1564, Rabelais), recently also “bodyguard” (1968).^(DHLF 1992) ''Rire aux anges'' dates from about 1600, ''être aux anges'' “to be overjoyed” from 1834, and ''un ange passe'' “a silence falls” from the mid-19th century (George Sand).^(DHLF 1992) ''Faiseuse d'anges'' (1878) was a back-street abortionist, from the picture of angels as very young children.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 980 – ''Angele''.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * c. 1100 – ''Angele'' and ''angle'' in the ''Chanson de Roland''.^(Littré 1873)

+ * 13th century – The form ''ange''.^(DHLF 1992)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ * 1550 – ''Bon ange'', ''mauvais ange''.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1564 – ''Ange gardien'' “protector” (Rabelais).^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 16th century – ''Ange'' replaces ''angele''.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * c. 1600 – ''Rire aux anges''.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1834 – ''Être aux anges''.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1878 – ''Faiseuse d'anges''.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1968 – ''Ange gardien'' “bodyguard”.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''(theology)'' An [[m|en|angel]], a spiritual being acting as messenger between God and humankind: ''l'ange Gabriel'', ''bons anges'', ''mauvais anges''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(GLLF 1989)

+ # ''Ange gardien'': a [[m|en|guardian angel]]; figuratively a protector, also a [[m|en|bodyguard]].^(Petit Robert 2007)^(DHLF 1992)

+ # ''(figurative)'' A person of perfect goodness, gentleness or beauty, ''mon ange'', a term of endearment.^(DHLF 1992)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # ''Être aux anges'': to be in raptures, ''un ange passe'': there is an awkward silence.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[angelot]]

+ * [[angélisme]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[angélique]]

+ * [[angélus]]

+ * [[archange]]

+ * [[évangile]]

+ * [[la|angelus]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Ange'' is also a given name, as in ''Marie-Ange''.^(Wiktionary) Pascal's saying ''qui veut faire l'ange fait la bête'' (“he who would act the angel acts the beast”) is from the ''Pensées''.^(Petit Robert 2007)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}