soldat French · revision 17229

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1475|origins=la solidus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /sɔl.da/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''soldat''' ''m'' (plural soldats, feminine soldate)^(Wiktionary)

+ Also ''souldat'' in the 16th century; feminine ''soldate''.^(DHLF 1992)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|it|soldato|t=soldier, literally one who is paid]], the past participle used as a noun of [[m|it|soldare|t=to pay (soldiers)]], from [[m|it|soldo|t=coin; pay]].^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(Wiktionary)^(FEW|12, 54b) “Soldo” goes back to [[la-lat|solidus|t=gold coin]], the source of French [[sou]], Rey traces “soldare” to [[la|solidō|t=to make solid]].^(GLLF 1989)^(DHLF 1992) It replaced [[soudard]], which became pejorative, and Old French “soldeier”, “soudoier”, the source of [[en|soldier]].^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(DHLF 1992)^(Littré 1873) The Italian word also gave [[es|soldado]] and [[de|Soldat]], and the French word spread with the prestige of French armies in the 17th century.^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Its first record, in a document of 1475 printed with Commynes' memoirs, is a man of war in the pay of a prince or state.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ From 1560 it named a soldier without rank, also ''simple soldat'' (1587), and a man with military qualities, ''soldat de fortune'' meant an adventurer (1590–1604) and later an officer risen from the ranks (1636).^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(GLLF 1989) Figuratively it is one who fights for a cause (1604, ''soldat d'amour'', ''soldat de la foi'').^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) Its connotations changed: from the 15th to the 18th century it suggested the mercenary, as the etymology implies, while after 1789 the citizen soldier gave it positive values.^(DHLF 1992) In zoology it named the hermit crab (1645) and, from 1791, the defenders of a termite or ant colony.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1475 – First record.^(TLFi)

+ * 1560 – A private soldier, Grévin.^(TLFi)

+ * 1587 – ''Simple soldat'', La Noue.^(GLLF 1989)

+ * 1604 – Figurative ''soldat d'amour'', Montchrestien.^(TLFi)

+ * 1645 – The hermit crab.^(TLFi)

+ * 1791 – A soldier termite.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1923 – ''Le Soldat inconnu''.^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|soldier]]: ''soldats de métier'', ''le Soldat inconnu''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A private, a soldier without rank: ''simple soldat''.^(Larousse)^(TLFi)

+ # ''(literary)'' A champion, fighter for a cause: ''les soldats de la liberté''.^(Larousse)^(DHLF 1992)

+ # ''(zoology)'' A soldier ant or termite.^(Larousse)^(DHLF 1992)

+ # ''Jouer au petit soldat'': to play the hero, ''soldats de plomb'', tin soldiers.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[soldate]]

+ * [[soldatesque]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[solde]]

+ * [[sou]]

+ * [[soudard]]

+ * [[soudoyer]]

+ * [[en|soldier]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}