derrière French · revision 17443

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 1100, Chanson de Roland|origins=la retrō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /dɛ.ʁjɛʁ/^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA: /de.ʁjɛʁ/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''derrière'''^(Wiktionary)

+ Old French [[m|fro|derere]], then ''deriere'' and ''derrière''; also ''derrier'', ''deriers'' (about 1278).^(DHLF 1992)^(TLFi)^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|fro|deriere]], [[inh|la-lat|dēretrō|t=behind]], the welding of “dē retrō”, from [[m|la|dē]], marking the point of departure, and [[m|la|retrō|t=backwards, behind]].^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(FEW|3, 47a) The doubled ⟨rr⟩ is due to the influence of Old French [[m|fro|derrain|t=last]] (see [[dernier]]).^(TLFi)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) “Dēretrō” replaced classical [[la|post]], which survived only as an adverb of time and gave French the learned prefix “post-”; in French “derrière” displaced the simple [[m|fro|riere]], from “retrō”, usual until the 15th century.^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+

+ Cognate with [[it|dietro]], [[pro|dereire]] and [[ca|darrera]].^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Littré 1873)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ It is first found in the ''Chanson de Roland'' (about 1100), as a preposition, ''Sa rereguarde lerrat derere sei'' “he will leave his rearguard behind him”, and as an adverb.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ ''Par derrière'' “from behind” is in Chrétien de Troyes (1174–1187), and figuratively “behind one's back” in Jean de Meun (about 1278).^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) The figurative “sheltered by” appears about 1625 (Agrippa d'Aubigné), and the time sense “after” in Victor Hugo (1823, ''derrière la mort'').^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ Used as a noun, ''le derrière'' arose in a military context (about 1230); from the 18th century ''les derrières'' of an army were the ground behind it.^(DHLF 1992)^(Grand Robert 2005) The noun names the back of a thing (the Petit Robert dates it 1459) and the backside, the buttocks.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

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

+ * 1174–1187 – ''Par derriere'' in Chrétien de Troyes.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1230 – First use as a noun.^(Grand Robert 2005)^(DHLF 1992)

+ * c. 1278 – ''Par deriers'' “behind someone's back”, in Jean de Meun.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+ * c. 1625 – “Sheltered by”, in Agrippa d'Aubigné.^(TLFi)

+ * 1823 – ''Derrière la mort'' in Victor Hugo.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Preposition===

+ # [[m|en|behind]], at the back of: ''derrière la maison''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(figurative)'' Behind, hidden by; responsible for: ''qui est derrière tout ça ?''^(Wiktionary)^(GLLF 1989)

+ # After, following: ''laisser quelqu'un derrière soi''.^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ ===Adverb===

+ # Behind, at the back: ''passer derrière'', ''par-derrière'', from behind, behind someone's back.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(TLFi)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # The back or rear part of something: ''le derrière d'une maison''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # The [[m|en|backside]], buttocks.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(dated, plural)'' The rear of an army: ''assurer ses derrières''.^(Petit Robert 2007)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[arrière]]

+ * [[dernier]]

+ * [[rétro-]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}