expliquer French · revision 17378

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=14th century, Chronique de Flandre (soi expliquer)|origins=la plicō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ɛks.pli.ke/^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA: /ɛk.spli.ke/^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA: /ɛs.pli.ke/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''expliquer'''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la|explicō|t=to unroll, unfold; to set out clearly]], formed from [[m|la|ex-]], reversing the action, and [[m|la|plicō|t=to fold]].^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(FEW|3, 310b) “Plicō” is an intensive of [[m|la|plectō|t=to plait, twine]].^(DHLF 1992) It is a learned word: the inherited form is “esployer”, now [[éployer]], of which it is a doublet.^(Littré 1873)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ Compare [[es|explicar]] and [[it|esplicare]].^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Its first known use, the reflexive ''soi expliquer'' in a 14th-century chronicle of Flanders, is obscure and may mean “to develop”; about 1450 it means “to make clear” in the ''Mystère du Viel Testament''.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In the 16th century it meant “to make something understood by setting it out”, and Bloch and Wartburg note that the literal “to unfold” was still used then.^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) ''S'expliquer'' “to become understandable” is in Montaigne (1580); “to state one's thoughts” and “to give reasons” are in Corneille (1651), and “to clear up a misunderstanding” from 1662.^(DHLF 1992) The school sense, translating or commenting on a text, belongs to the same period.^(DHLF 1992)^(Petit Robert 2007) Related borrowings are [[explication]] (1322), [[explicable]] (1554) and [[explicite]] (1488); [[explicatif]] (1587) and [[expliciter]] (1870) were formed in French.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 14th century – ''Soi expliquer'' in a chronicle of Flanders.^(TLFi)

+ * 1322 – ''Explication''.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+ * c. 1450 – “To make clear”.^(TLFi)

+ * 1580 – ''S'expliquer'' in Montaigne.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1651 – “To state one's thoughts”, in Corneille.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1870 – ''Expliciter''.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To [[m|en|explain]], make clear: ''expliquer un problème''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # To set out in detail: ''expliquer ses projets''.^(GLLF 1989)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # To account for: ''cela explique son retard''.^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # To comment on (a text) in class: ''expliquer un poème''.^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # ''S'expliquer'': to explain oneself; to have it out; to be understandable.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[explicatif]]

+ * [[inexpliqué]]

+ * [[expliciter]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[explication]]

+ * [[explicable]]

+ * [[inexplicable]]

+ * [[explicite]]

+ * [[plier]]

+ * [[éployer]]

+ * [[en|explicate]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}