malheur French · revision 17032

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=compound|attested=1174–1200, Roman de Renart (mal eür)|origins=la malus, la augurium}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ma.lœʁ/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''malheur''' ''m'' (plural malheurs)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old French ''mal eür'' in the phrase ''a mal eür'' “unluckily” (from the mid-12th century); ''malheur'' as one word before 1526.^(TLFi)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a compound [[af|fr|mal|heur]], “bad luck”, from the adjective “mal” “bad” and the old noun [[heur]] “luck, fortune”.^(TLFi)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(GLLF 1989)^(Wiktionary)^(Littré 1873) “Heur”, Old French “aür”, “eür”, comes from [[la|agurium]], an altered form of [[m|la|augurium|t=omen]], which with the decline of pagan beliefs came to mean fate, good or bad.^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) “Heur” went out of use in the 17th century, replaced by “malheur” and [[bonheur]].^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ Old French also had “malheurté”.^(Littré 1873) Compare [[pro|malahur]].^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The ''Roman de Renart'' (1174–1200) has ''mal eür'', a cruel stroke of fate: ''c'an cel por n'avrez mal eür'' “that you shall have no misfortune for it”.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Written as one word, ''malheur'' is an unhappy event in Jean Marot (before 1526), and in Clément Marot (1529) a painful situation and bad luck in general.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) The proverb ''à quelque chose malheur est bon'' “every cloud has a silver lining” dates from 1569 and is in La Fontaine (1668).^(DHLF 1992)^(BHVF) ''Porter malheur'' is in Guez de Balzac (1632), ''malheur à'' in Boileau (1660), ''pour mon malheur'' in Racine (1670) and the interjection ''malheur !'' in Molière (1673).^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ''De malheur'' after a noun, “cursed”, is recorded in 1661 and in Dancourt (1697).^(DHLF 1992)^(TLFi)^(BHVF) ''Faire un malheur'' (1867) first meant to make a scene with dire consequences; in theatre slang it came, by antiphrasis, to mean a resounding success.^(DHLF 1992)^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1174–1200 – ''Mal eür'', ''Roman de Renart''.^(TLFi)

+ * before 1526 – ''Malheur'', an unhappy event, Jean Marot.^(TLFi)

+ * 1529 – A painful situation, Clément Marot.^(TLFi)

+ * 1569 – ''À quelque chose malheur est bon''.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1632 – ''Porter malheur''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1673 – The interjection ''malheur !'', Molière.^(TLFi)

+ * 1867 – ''Faire un malheur''.^(DHLF 1992)^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|misfortune]], a calamity: ''un grand malheur'', ''un malheur est si vite arrivé''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Unhappiness, adversity; bad luck: ''le malheur des uns fait le bonheur des autres'', ''par malheur'', unfortunately.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)^(TLFi)

+ # ''Porter malheur'': to bring bad luck, ''oiseau de malheur'', a bird of ill omen.^(TLFi)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''De malheur'' (after a noun): cursed, wretched.^(TLFi)^(BHVF)

+ # ''Faire un malheur'': to do something rash, ''(familiar)'' to be a smash hit.^(DHLF 1992)^(GLLF 1989)

+ # ''Malheur !'' Alas!, ''malheur à…'', woe to…^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[malheureux]]

+ * [[malheureusement]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[heur]]

+ * [[bonheur]]

+ * [[mal]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}