tant French · revision 17482

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=2nd half of the 10th century, Vie de saint Léger (tam)|origins=la tantus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA (Belgium, France): /tɑ̃/^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA (Canada): /tã/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''tant'''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|fro|tant]], [[inh|la|tantum|t=so much; only]], the neuter of [[m|la|tantus|t=so great]] used as an adverb.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(FEW|13/1, 85b)^(Wiktionary) Latin “tantus”, from an older “*tam-to-s”, contains, like [[m|la|tālis]] (whence [[tel]]) and [[m|la|tum]], the Indo-European demonstrative stem.^(DHLF 1992)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ Cognate with [[ro|atât]], [[it|tanto]], [[oc|tant]], [[ca|tant]], [[es|tanto]] and [[pt|tanto]].^(REW 1935)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ In the second half of the 10th century the ''Vie de saint Léger'' uses ''tam'' with an adverb and an adjective, “very, so”: ''Ewruins, qui tan fud miels'' “Ebroin, who was so bad”.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ From the end of the 10th century ''tant… que'' introduced a consequence (''so much… that''), and ''tant'' was used with verbs from about 1050 (''Tant l'as celet'').^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) Its use with adjectives and adverbs is now archaic, replaced by ''si'' and ''tellement''.^(DHLF 1992) ''Tant que'' “as long as” dates from about 1180.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ Comparisons followed: ''tant… que'' replaced Old French ''tant… comme'', ''en tant que'' “as, in the capacity of” is a 17th-century calque of Latin ''in tantum quantum'', anticipated by Oresme's ''en tant comme'' (1370–72).^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(TLFi) ''Tant mieux'' and ''tant pis'' date from the 16th century, ''tous tant que nous sommes'' from 1561, ''tant et si bien que'' from 1666, and ''tant bien que mal'' from 1872.^(DHLF 1992)^(BHVF)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) As a noun, ''tant'' expresses an unstated quantity (''à tant par mois'').^(DHLF 1992)^(Larousse)

+

+ ==Timeline==

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

+ * c. 1050 – ''Tant'' with a verb in the ''Vie de saint Alexis''.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1180 – ''Tant que'' “as long as”.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1213 – The diminutive ''tantet''.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+ * 1538 – ''Tant s'en faut''.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1561 – ''Tous tant que nous sommes''.^(BHVF)

+ * 1663 – ''Tant pis'' in Molière.^(TLFi)

+ * 1690 – ''Tant mieux'' in Furetière.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adverb===

+ # So much, so [[m|en|many]]: ''il souffre tant'', ''tant de gens''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''Tant… que'': so much that; also both… and: ''tant les jeunes que les vieux''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''Tant que'': as long as: ''tant qu'il y a de la vie''.^(DHLF 1992)

+ # ''En tant que'': as, in the [[m|en|capacity]] of.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(TLFi)

+ # ''Tant mieux'', ''tant pis'': so much the better, too bad.^(TLFi)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(as a noun)'' A certain unstated amount: ''être payé tant par mois''.^(Larousse)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[autant]]

+ * [[partant]]

+ * [[pourtant]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[tantôt]]

+ * [[tel]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}