soudain French · revision 17309

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=first half of the 12th century, Cambridge Psalter (sudein)|origins=la subitus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /su.dɛ̃/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''soudain''' (feminine soudaine, masculine plural soudains, feminine plural soudaines)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old French [[m|fro|sudein]] (about 1120), remade as ''soudain'' about 1210; the semi-learned spelling ''soubdain'' is found in the 16th century.^(DHLF 1992)^(Grand Robert 2005)

+ The learned form ''subitain'' (1160–70) lived on in ''mort subitaine'', still used in Walloon and Swiss dialects.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|fro|sudein]], [[inh|la-lat|subitānus]] (5th century), an alteration of [[m|la|subitāneus|t=sudden]], from [[m|la|subitus|t=sudden]].^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(FEW|12, 334b) The same Latin adjective gave the learned [[subit]].^(DHLF 1992)^(Grand Robert 2005)

+

+ Cognate with [[pro|soptan]] and [[it|subitano]].^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ In the Cambridge Psalter (first half of the 12th century) ''sudein'' describes what happens in a very short time.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Of people it meant quick to act (late 14th century, Froissart), a sense lost in the 18th century, and quick-tempered (1380), still found in 1700.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ The adverb is first recorded in 1487 meaning “at once”; the modern sense “all of a sudden” appears in 1549, and ''tout soudain'' from about 1530.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) The conjunction ''soudain que'' “as soon as” (1538) was no longer in use by 1721, according to the Dictionnaire de Trévoux.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1120 – ''Sudein'', in the Cambridge Psalter.^(DHLF 1992)^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1210 – The form ''soudain''.^(DHLF 1992)^(Grand Robert 2005)

+ * Late 14th century – “Quick to act”, in Froissart.^(TLFi)

+ * 1487 – Adverb “at once”.^(TLFi)

+ * 1549 – Adverb “suddenly”.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # [[m|en|sudden]], happening in a very short time and without warning: ''une mort soudaine'', ''une envie soudaine''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Le Robert)

+

+ ===Adverb===

+ # [[m|en|suddenly]], all at once: ''soudain, un orage éclata''.^(Larousse)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[soudaineté]]

+ * [[soudainement]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[subit]]

+ * [[la|subitus]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}