pencher French · revision 17116

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=1265, Aldebrandin de Sienne (pengier)|origins=la pendeō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /pɑ̃.ʃe/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''pencher'''^(Wiktionary)

+ Old French [[m|fro|pengier]] (1265), then ''pencher'' (1283).^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|la-vul|*pendicō|t=to lean, be inclined]], derived from [[la|pendeō|t=to hang]] (see [[pendre]]).^(TLFi)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(FEW|8, 184b) Rey suggests that the Vulgar Latin verb was formed on an adjective [[m|la-vul|*pendicus]] “sloping, inclined to one side”.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ Compare [[pro|pengar]] and [[ca|penjar]].^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ In 1265 Aldebrandin de Sienne's ''Régime du corps'' uses ''pengier'' intransitively for something being tilted, out of its upright position.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ As early as 1283 Philippe de Beaumanoir uses ''se pencher plus d'une partie que d'autre'' for a judge who favours one side; this figurative sense passed to the intransitive verb (Montaigne, 1588), and, from 1530 ''se pencher'' kept only the concrete sense “to lean over”.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) The 17th century added ''pencher à'' + infinitive “to tend to” (Corneille, 1645), the transitive “to draw, push towards” (Corneille, ''Le Cid'', 1636) and ''pencher sur son déclin'' “to verge on decline”, uses now archaic or literary.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) ''Se pencher sur'' “to look into, take an interest in” is first found in Balzac in 1843.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ The present participle became the noun [[penchant]] (1538), first “slope”, then “inclination, liking” (1647).^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1265 – ''Pengier'' “to be tilted”, Aldebrandin de Sienne.^(TLFi)

+ * 1283 – ''Se pencher'' “to favour one side”, Beaumanoir.^(TLFi)

+ * 1530 – ''Se pencher'' “to lean over”, Palsgrave.^(TLFi)^(GLLF 1989)

+ * 1588 – Intransitive “to be inclined to a choice”, Montaigne.^(TLFi)

+ * 1636 – Transitive “to draw towards”, Corneille.^(TLFi)

+ * 1843 – ''Se pencher sur'' “to take an interest in”, Balzac.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Verb===

+ # ''(intransitive)'' To [[m|en|lean]], tilt, be out of the vertical: ''le mur penche''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(transitive)'' To tilt, [[m|en|tip]], bend: ''pencher la tête''.^(GLLF 1989)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''Pencher pour'', ''vers'': to be inclined towards (an opinion, a choice); ''faire pencher la balance'', to tip the balance.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''Se pencher'': to bend down, lean over: ''se pencher par la fenêtre''.^(Wiktionary)^(TLFi)

+ # ''Se pencher sur'': to look into, examine, take an interest in (a question).^(Wiktionary)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[penchant]]

+ * [[penchement]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[pente]]

+ * [[pendre]]

+ * [[la|pendeō]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}