pire French · revision 17227

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=1119, Philippe de Thaon|origins=la peior}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /piʁ/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''pire''' (plural pires)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old French nominative ''pire'', oblique ''peior'', ''pejur'', ''pieur''; the oblique form died out in the 15th century, and, unusually, the nominative survived.^(TLFi)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|fro|pire]], [[inh|la|peior|t=worse]], the comparative of [[m|la|malus|t=bad]].^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(Wiktionary)^(FEW|8, 153b) “Pire” continues the Latin nominative “pejor”, stressed on the first syllable; the accusative “pejōrem” gave “peior”, “pieur”.^(Littré 1873)^(TLFi) Rey reports a proposed base “*ped-yos-” “falling”, with [[sa|पद्यते|tr=pádyate|t=he falls]], Wiktionary gives [[ine-pro|*ped-yōs|t=downward]].^(DHLF 1992)^(Wiktionary) The neuter [[m|la|peius]] gave [[pis]].^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(REW 1935)

+

+ Cognate with [[it|peggiore]], [[es|peor]] and [[pt|pior]].^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Philippe de Thaon (1119) uses it as the superlative of ''mauvais'': ''la pire rüelete'' “the worst little street”; the ''Chanson de Roland'' has ''des mielz et des pejurs'' “of the best and the worst”.^(TLFi)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ As a comparative, “worse”, it is found in Wace (1155), and as a noun, ''le pire'', “the worst”, about 1165.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) From these come ''pour le meilleur et pour le pire'' and ''la politique du pire''.^(DHLF 1992) The rivalry between ''pire'' and ''pis'' survives in adverbial uses of ''pire'' that purists criticise: ''faire pire'' (1643), ''rien de pire'' (1679), ''c'est pire'' (1788).^(DHLF 1992) In Canadian French ''pire'' can mean simply “bad”: ''c'est pas pire'' “not bad”.^(DHLF 1992)^(Petit Robert 2007) The verb [[empirer]] is a 13th-century remaking, after ''pire'', of Old French ''empeirier''.^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1100 – ''Pejurs'', ''Chanson de Roland''.^(Littré 1873)

+ * 1119 – Superlative ''la pire'', Philippe de Thaon.^(TLFi)

+ * 1155 – Comparative “worse”, Wace.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1165 – The noun ''le pire''.^(TLFi)

+ * 15th century – The form ''pieur'' disappears.^(TLFi)

+ * 1643 – ''Faire pire''.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # [[m|en|worse]]: ''le remède est pire que le mal'', ''de pire en pire''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''Le pire'', ''la pire'': the [[m|en|worst]]: ''le pire ennemi'', ''de la pire espèce''.^(Wiktionary)^(Larousse)

+ # ''(Canada, familiar)'' ''Pas pire'': not bad.^(DHLF 1992)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''Le pire'': the worst: ''s'attendre au pire'', ''au pire'', at worst, ''pour le meilleur et pour le pire''.^(Larousse)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[empirer]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[pis]]

+ * [[péjoratif]]

+ * [[pessimiste]]

+ * [[mauvais]]

+ * [[meilleur]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Pire'' is the comparative of the adjective ''mauvais'' and may replace ''plus mauvais'', ''pis'' is the comparative of the adverb ''mal''.^(Larousse)^(Petit Robert 2007) ''Il n'est pire sourd que celui qui ne veut pas entendre'' is a common proverb.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}