vague French · revision 17109

+ {{homograph|1|wave}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=probable|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1130 (wage); 1150 (vague)|origins=non vágr}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /vaɡ/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''vague''' ''f'' (plural vagues)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old French ''wage'' (about 1130), ''vague'' (1150).^(Grand Robert 2005)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The wave is [[bor|non|vágr|t=sea]], according to the FEW, Bloch and Wartburg and the Grand Robert; compare [[gmh|wâge]] and [[de|Woge]].^(Grand Robert 2005)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(DHLF 1992)^(FEW|17, 418a) Wiktionary traces the Norse word to [[gem-pro|*wēgaz|t=wave, storm]], related to [[ang|wǣg]].^(Wiktionary) Rey links it with an Indo-European root of movement also seen in [[en|wag]].^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ Pierre Guiraud proposed instead a Latin origin, from [[la|vadum|t=ford; poetically water, sea]] through a Gallo-Romance verb [[m|la-vul|*vadicō|t=to toss (of the sea)]], whose deverbal noun would be the wave, but this is not borne out.^(DHLF 1992)^(Grand Robert 2005)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ ''Wage'' is found about 1130 and ''vague'' in 1150 for a mass of water that rises and falls on the surface of the sea.^(Grand Robert 2005)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ By analogy the word named anything shaped or moving like waves (1685), and an ornament imitating them in architecture (1842).^(DHLF 1992) From 1830 it was used for a surge of feeling (''une vague d'enthousiasme''), and, from 1892 for a mass of people or things arriving suddenly, as in ''vague d'assaut'' (1916).^(DHLF 1992) ''Vague de chaleur'' and ''vague de froid'' date from about 1930, and ''la nouvelle vague'' (1957) named a new generation and its art, especially in film.^(DHLF 1992) In Quebec ''faire la vague'' is said of a crowd's “Mexican wave”.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1130 – ''Wage''.^(Grand Robert 2005)

+ * 1150 – ''Vague''.^(Grand Robert 2005)

+ * 1830 – A surge of feeling.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1916 – ''Vague d'assaut''.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1957 – ''La nouvelle vague''.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|wave]] (of the sea, of a lake).^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A wave, surge (of feeling, of people or things): ''une vague de chaleur'', ''une vague de protestations'', ''la nouvelle vague''.^(DHLF 1992)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # ''(familiar)'' ''Faire des vagues'': to make waves, cause trouble.^(Petit Robert 2007)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[vaguelette]]

+

+ {{homograph|2|empty}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1230 (vake de)|origins=la vacuus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /vaɡ/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''vague''' (plural vagues)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ This adjective is [[bor|la|vacuus|t=empty, unoccupied]].^(TLFi)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(FEW|14, 110b) Medieval French hesitated between “vaque” and “vague”, and “vague” won by confusion with the adjective from [[la|vagus]] (“vague” 3).^(TLFi)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Grand Robert 2005)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ In 1230 ''vake de'' means “lacking, without” (''vake de prestre''), and about 1260 the Ménestrel de Reims has ''siege vagues'' “empty seats”; in the Middle Ages it was also said of a vacant office.^(TLFi)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Land not built on is ''terre vacque'' in 1266, ''terrain vague'', a piece of waste ground in a town, comes from this use, and ''terres vaines et vagues'' is a legal phrase in Furetière (1690).^(TLFi)^(Petit Robert 2007) As a noun ''le vague'' meant empty space (''le vague de l'air'', Buffon), and under the influence of ''vague'' 3 it gave ''regarder dans le vague'', “to gaze into space”.^(Petit Robert 2007)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1230 – ''Vake de'' “without”.^(TLFi)

+ * 1266 – ''Terre vacque'', unbuilt land.^(TLFi)

+ * 1589 – ''Vague'' of land in a town.^(TLFi)

+ * 1690 – ''Terres vaines et vagues'', Furetière.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # ''Terrain vague'': a piece of [[m|en|waste ground]] in a town.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(TLFi)

+ # ''(dated)'' Uncultivated, unoccupied (of land).^(TLFi)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''Le vague'': empty space, ''regarder dans le vague'', to stare into space.^(Petit Robert 2007)

+

+ {{homograph|3|imprecise}}

+

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1213, Faits des Romains|origins=la vagus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /vaɡ/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''vague''' (plural vagues)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ This adjective is [[bor|la|vagus|t=wandering, roving; inconstant, indefinite]].^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(FEW|14, 127b) The origin of “vagus” is unknown.^(DHLF 1992) Spoken Latin had already given Old French [[m|fro|vai]] “wandering; fickle” (13th century), which disappeared, perhaps because it was so short.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The ''Faits des Romains'' (1213) has it as a noun, “wanderer, vagrant”; as an adjective “wandering” it is found about 1375 and was used until the 16th century.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ From 1316–28 (''Ovide moralisé'') it described thoughts that are imprecise, not defined, Furetière (1690) has ''discours vague''.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) In the 17th century it was used of what cannot be located exactly (''fièvre vague'', Cotgrave, 1611) or seen clearly (Corneille, 1672).^(TLFi) Painters used ''le vague'' for a light, airy manner (1699).^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ The noun ''le vague'' became a malaise of the soul (1802), surviving in ''vague à l'âme'' (1830).^(DHLF 1992)^(TLFi) The ''nerf vague'' (1690) is named after Medieval Latin ''vagus'', for its scattered branches.^(DHLF 1992) In 1890 Zola uses the adjective for something of little consequence (''un vague service''), and in 1895 it is said of loose-fitting clothes.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1213 – Noun “wanderer”, ''Faits des Romains''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1316–28 – “Imprecise”, ''Ovide moralisé''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1611 – ''Fièvre vague'', Cotgrave.^(TLFi)

+ * 1690 – ''Nerf vague''.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1830 – ''Vague à l'âme''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1890 – “Of little consequence”, Zola.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # [[m|en|vague]], imprecise, ill-defined: ''une réponse vague'', ''une vague idée''.^(Wiktionary)^(TLFi)

+ # Indistinct, hazy; hard to locate: ''une douleur vague''.^(TLFi)

+ # Some, of little account: ''un vague cousin''.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+ # Loose-fitting (of clothes).^(TLFi)

+ # ''(anatomy)'' ''Nerf vague'': the [[m|en|vagus nerve]].^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # Vagueness, imprecision: ''rester dans le vague''.^(Wiktionary)^(DHLF 1992)

+ # ''Vague à l'âme'': [[m|en|melancholy]], vague sadness.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[vaguement]]

+ * [[vagal]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[vacant]]

+ * [[vagabond]]

+ * [[en|wave]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}