meilleur French · revision 17382

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=late 10th century, Vie de saint Léger (mieldre)|origins=la melior}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /mɛ.jœʁ/^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA: /me.jœʁ/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''meilleur''' (feminine meilleure, masculine plural meilleurs, feminine plural meilleures)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old French had a subject case [[m|fro|mieldre]], ''mieudre'' (late 10th century) and an object case ''meillor'' (1080); the latter, as ''meilleur'' from the early 13th century, replaced both.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(GLLF 1989)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|fro|meillor]], [[inh|la|melior|t=better]], accusative “meliōrem”, the comparative of [[m|la|bonus|t=good]].^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(FEW|6/1, 665b)^(Wiktionary) Rey takes “melior” to be built on the same root as [[m|la|multus|t=much]], with a first sense “bigger, stronger”.^(DHLF 1992) Littré, after Corssen, compared [[grc|μάλα|tr=mála|t=very]].^(Littré 1873)

+

+ Cognate with [[it|migliore]], [[oc|melhor]], [[ca|millor]], [[es|mejor]] and [[pt|melhor]].^(REW 1935)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The subject case ''mieldre'' is found in the second half of the 10th century in the ''Vie de saint Léger'', as the comparative of ''bon''; the object case ''meillor'' appears in the ''Chanson de Roland'' (about 1100).^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ From about 1050 it was also the superlative of ''bon'' (''le meilleur''), and about 1100 it was used as a noun for the best people.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) ''Le meilleur'' “the best part” is in Chrétien de Troyes (''avoir le meilleur'' “to get the upper hand”, about 1170), and ''pour le meilleur'' dates from 1377.^(TLFi) The impersonal ''il fera meillor'' + infinitive is from about 1165, and ''il fait meilleur'' of the weather is recorded by Larousse in 1873, though some purists condemn it.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) ''Avoir meilleur temps de'' “to be better off doing” is Swiss French (1727).^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 2nd half of the 10th century – ''Mieldre'' in the ''Vie de saint Léger''.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1050 – Superlative ''le meilleur'', in the ''Vie de saint Alexis''.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1100 – ''Meillor'' in the ''Chanson de Roland''.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1170 – ''Avoir le meilleur'' in Chrétien de Troyes.^(TLFi)

+ * Early 13th century – The form ''meilleur''.^(Grand Robert 2005)^(GLLF 1989)

+ * 1873 – ''Il fait meilleur'', in Larousse.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # [[m|en|better]] (comparative of ''bon''): ''un monde meilleur'', ''meilleur marché''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(GLLF 1989)

+ # ''Le meilleur'': the [[m|en|best]]: ''mon meilleur ami''.^(TLFi)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ===Adverb===

+ # ''Il fait meilleur'': the weather is better, ''sentir meilleur'': to smell better.^(Petit Robert 2007)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # ''Le meilleur'': the best part, the best one: ''garder le meilleur pour la fin''.^(TLFi)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''Pour le meilleur et pour le pire'': for better or for worse.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[mieux]]

+ * [[améliorer]]

+ * [[bon]]

+ * [[la|melior]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ ''Plus bon'' is not used for “better”, except where ''plus'' is separated from the adjective.^(DHLF 1992) The adverb corresponding to ''meilleur'' is [[mieux]].^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}