absolument French · revision 17049

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=1225, Tournai (absoluement)}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ap.sɔ.ly.mɑ̃/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''absolument'''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is formed [[af|fr|absolu|-ment]], on the feminine “absolue”.^(TLFi)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(GLLF 1989)^(Wiktionary)^(Littré 1873) Littré remarks that the regular spelling would be “absoluement” or “absolûment”, but usage dropped every sign of the derivation.^(Littré 1873)

+

+ Compare [[pro|absolutament]] and [[it|assolutamente]].^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A Tournai charter of March 1225 uses ''absoluement'' for “entirely, completely”, of a property sold and given up outright.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The sense “entirely” has stayed remarkably stable since the 13th century.^(TLFi) In the 16th century it came to mean “without limit or restriction” (Marnix), and it served as a synonym of ''souverainement'' “with absolute power” until the late 19th century, as in d'Aubigné's ''régner absolument''.^(TLFi)^(Littré 1873)^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ From the 17th century the dictionaries record its grammatical use, as Furetière (1690) does for a word used without a complement, and the philosophers of the 17th and 18th centuries opposed it to ''relativement''.^(TLFi) Today it also serves on its own as an emphatic “yes”.^(Petit Robert 2007)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1225 – ''Absoluement'', Tournai.^(TLFi)

+ * 14th century – ''Absolument considerées'', Oresme.^(Littré 1873)

+ * 16th century – “Without restriction”, Marnix.^(TLFi)

+ * 1690 – Grammatical use, Furetière.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adverb===

+ # [[m|en|absolutely]], without reservation; at all costs: ''il veut absolument vous voir'', ''il faut absolument le prévenir''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Completely, totally: ''c'est absolument faux'', ''absolument rien''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(as an answer)'' Absolutely, certainly, yes.^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # ''(grammar)'' Without the expected complement: ''verbe employé absolument''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(TLFi)

+ # ''(dated)'' With absolute power: ''régner absolument''.^(GLLF 1989)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[absolu]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}