parmi French · revision 17238

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=compound|attested=c. 1050, Vie de saint Alexis (par mi)|origins=la medius}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /paʁ.mi/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''parmi'''^(Wiktionary)

+ Old French ''per mei'' (late 10th century), ''par mi'' (1080), in one word from the 12th century (1160–74).^(DHLF 1992)^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a compound [[af|fr|par|mi|t2=middle]], literally “through the middle”.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(Littré 1873)^(Wiktionary)^(FEW|6/1, 621b) [[mi]] is from [[la|medius|t=middle]].^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) Old French also had “emmi” in the same sense (“Chanson de Roland”).^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ In the ''Passion de Clermont'' (late 10th century) the temple veil is torn ''per mei'' “through the middle”; the ''Vie de saint Alexis'' (about 1050) has it as a preposition: ''par mi les rues an venent si granz turbes'' “such great crowds come through the streets”.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In Old French it meant “through, across” (''par mi le champ chevalchet'', ''Chanson de Roland''), and “through the middle of, piercing”: ''sun grant espiet par mi le cors li mist''.^(TLFi) It could govern a singular noun or an abstract noun (''permei la mort'', late 12th century), uses that survived in classical French (''parmi la plaine'', La Fontaine) but are now literary and archaic.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(GLLF 1989) Modern usage takes a plural or a collective singular (14th century), especially a noun for people (before 1589), and expresses belonging to a group (Pascal, 1656–57) or being counted among others (La Fontaine, 1668).^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) The adverb ''parmi'' “in the midst” (Montaigne, 1580) is now literary or popular.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * Late 10th century – ''Per mei'' “through the middle”, ''Passion de Clermont''.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1050 – As a preposition, ''Vie de saint Alexis''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1160–74 – With a plural noun, Wace.^(TLFi)

+ * 1580 – Adverbial ''parmy'', Montaigne.^(TLFi)

+ * 1656–57 – Belonging to a group, Pascal.^(TLFi)

+ * 1668 – ''Parmi vingt'', “out of twenty”, La Fontaine.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Preposition===

+ # [[m|en|among]], amongst: ''parmi la foule'', ''il est revenu parmi nous''.^(GLLF 1989)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Among, in the number of: ''c'est une solution parmi d'autres'', ''parmi lesquels''.^(Le Robert)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # ''(literary)'' In the midst of, [[m|en|amid]]: ''parmi le thym et la rosée''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ===Adverb===

+ # ''(literary, dated)'' In the midst, among them.^(TLFi)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[mi]]

+ * [[milieu]]

+ * [[midi]]

+ * [[emmi]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Parmi'' is used with a plural or a collective noun, and not when only two things are involved (''entre'' is used then).^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Larousse) Littré records a separate fishermen's noun ''parmi'', a rope stretched between the two bolt-ropes of a seine net.^(Littré 1873)^(Larousse)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}