acheter French · revision 17383

+ {{infobox|confidence=probable|formation=inherited|attested=10th century, Sermon on Jonah (acheder)|origins=la-vul *accaptō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /aʃ.te/^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA: /a.ʃə.te/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''acheter'''^(Wiktionary)

+ Old French [[m|fro|acheder]] (10th century), ''achater'' and ''acheter'' (12th century); Anglo-Norman and Picard ''acater''.^(DHLF 1992)^(GLLF 1989)^(AND)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|fro|achater]], [[inh|la-vul|*accaptō|t=to take to oneself; to acquire]], formed from [[m|la|ad-]] and [[m|la|captō|t=to try to seize]] (see [[capter]]).^(DHLF 1992)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(GLLF 1989)^(FEW|24, 66a)^(Wiktionary) Some take “*accaptāre” as a remaking of classical [[la|acceptō|t=to receive]] after “captāre”; others as a compound of “captāre” itself.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(DHLF 1992)^(REW 1935) It is a doublet of [[accepter]].^(Wiktionary)

+

+ Classical Latin used [[m|la|emō|t=to buy]], replaced after the 2nd century by [[m|la|comparō|t=to procure]], whence [[it|comprare]] and [[es|comprar]], “*accaptāre” is behind southern Italian “accattari” and [[pro|acaptar]].^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(DHLF 1992)^(REW 1935) Bloch and Wartburg think Italy may owe the word to northern Gaul, or the reverse.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) Littré derived it instead from “ad” and “caput” “head”.^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ It is first found in the 10th century as ''acheder'' in the Sermon on Jonah.^(GLLF 1989)^(Grand Robert 2005)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The first idea, “to take, obtain”, was overlaid in the middle of the 12th century by that of an exchange for money.^(DHLF 1992) Figuratively, as in ''acheter trop cher sa tranquillité'', it has been used since 1160; with a person as object it meant “to win over” at the end of the 12th century, and later “to bribe”.^(DHLF 1992)^(GLLF 1989) Buying something for another, ''acheter un vélo à son fils'', seems recent.^(DHLF 1992) Old French also had ''comperer'', from ''comparāre'', in the sense “to pay dearly for”.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) Derivatives include [[achat]] (1178, ''acat''), [[acheteur]] and [[racheter]] (12th century).^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 10th century – ''Acheder'' in the Sermon on Jonah.^(GLLF 1989)

+ * 12th century – The forms ''achater'' and ''acheter'', ''racheter''.^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+ * Mid-12th century – “To exchange for money”.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1160 – Figurative use.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1178 – ''Acat'', later ''achat''.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+ * Late 12th century – “To win over (a person)”.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To [[m|en|buy]], [[m|en|purchase]]: ''acheter une maison'', ''acheter à crédit''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # To buy for someone: ''acheter un jouet à son fils''.^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # To [[m|en|bribe]], buy the complicity of: ''acheter un témoin''.^(GLLF 1989)

+ # To obtain at a cost: ''acheter cher sa liberté''.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[achat]]

+ * [[acheteur]]

+ * [[racheter]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[accepter]]

+ * [[capter]]

+ * [[la|captō]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}