hésiter French · revision 17044

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1406 (hecyter)|origins=la haereō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /e.zi.te/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''hésiter'''^(Wiktionary)

+ ''Hecyter'' (1406), ''ecytés'' (15th century, ''Passion d'Autun''); ''hésiter'' from about 1535.^(DHLF 1992)^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la|haesitō|t=to be stuck, at a loss; to stammer; to hesitate]], a frequentative of [[m|la|haereō|t=to stick, cling]].^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(GLLF 1989)^(Littré 1873)^(FEW|4, 375a) The Latin verb has been compared with [[lt|gaištù|t=to hesitate, linger]].^(DHLF 1992) The noun [[hésitation]] was borrowed earlier, at the end of the 13th century.^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ It is recorded in 1406 as ''hecyter'', for being in a state of uncertainty that holds back action; the ''Passion d'Autun'' (15th century) has ''puisque de mors vous ecytés'' “since you hesitate before death”.^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Georges de Selve's Plutarch (about 1535) has the modern spelling.^(TLFi)^(GLLF 1989) Monet (1636) and Cotgrave (1611) record hesitating in speech, stammering.^(TLFi)^(GLLF 1989)^(DHLF 1992) The constructions multiplied in classical French: ''hésiter entre'' (1653, Vaugelas), ''hésiter sur'' (1670, Molière), ''hésiter à'' with an infinitive (1690, Furetière), ''hésiter de'' (late 17th century, now out of use), and in the 19th century ''hésiter si''.^(DHLF 1992)^(GLLF 1989) The participle [[hésitant]] became an adjective in 1829.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1406 – ''Hecyter''.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * c. 1535 – ''Hésiter'', Georges de Selve.^(TLFi)

+ * 1611 – “To stammer”, Cotgrave.^(TLFi)

+ * 1653 – ''Hésiter entre'', Vaugelas.^(GLLF 1989)

+ * 1690 – ''Hésiter à'', Furetière.^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To [[m|en|hesitate]], waver, be undecided: ''il n'hésita pas une seconde'', ''répondre sans hésiter''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''Hésiter entre'', ''sur'': to be torn between, unsure about: ''hésiter sur l'orthographe d'un mot''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(DHLF 1992)

+ # ''Hésiter à'': to be reluctant to: ''n'hésitez pas à m'appeler''.^(DHLF 1992)^(GLLF 1989)

+ # To falter, pause in speaking or moving.^(TLFi)^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[hésitant]]

+ * [[hésitation]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[adhérer]]

+ * [[la|haesitō]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}