distance French · revision 17504

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=c. 1223, Gautier de Coinci|origins=la stō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /dis.tɑ̃s/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''distance''' ''f'' (plural distances)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la|distantia|t=distance, remoteness; difference]], from [[m|la|distāns|t=standing apart]] (see [[distant]]), the present participle of [[m|la|distō|t=to stand apart]], from [[m|la|dis-]] and [[m|la|stō|t=to stand]].^(TLFi)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(GLLF 1989)^(FEW|3, 99b) Before it, Old French [[m|fro|destance]] “discord, quarrel” is found about 1175, but only in the West and in Anglo-Norman.^(TLFi)^(AND)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Gautier de Coinci (about 1223) uses it figuratively for the degree of separation between two people.^(TLFi)^(Grand Robert 2005)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The ''Roman de la Rose'' (about 1265) has it for the space between things, and Saint-Gelais (before 1558) for the gap between two things.^(GLLF 1989)^(Littré 1873)^(TLFi) It was used of time about 1450.^(TLFi) The phrases ''à quelque distance de'' (Rousseau, 1762), ''garder sa distance'' (Balzac, 1844) and ''prendre sa distance'' (Zola, 1877) followed;^(TLFi) in sport (1827) the use is related to English ''distance'' in horse racing, recorded from 1674.^(TLFi)

+

+ ''Prendre ses distances'', to keep aloof, and ''tenir la distance'', to last the course, are common modern phrases.^(Wiktionary)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1175 – ''Destance'' “discord”, in Benoît's ''Chronique des ducs de Normandie''.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1223 – Gautier de Coinci, of the gap between persons.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1265 – The space between things, in Jean de Meun.^(GLLF 1989)

+ * c. 1450 – An interval of time.^(TLFi)

+ * 1762 – ''À quelque distance de'', in Rousseau.^(TLFi)

+ * 1827 – Sporting use.^(TLFi)

+ * 1844 – ''Garder sa distance'', in Balzac.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The [[m|en|length]] or space between two things or places: ''la distance de la Terre à la Lune''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Le Robert)

+ # ''(mathematics)'' The length of the straight line joining two points.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(GLLF 1989)

+ # An [[m|en|interval]] of time.^(TLFi)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # A difference in rank, character or condition.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(GLLF 1989)

+ # ''À distance'': from a distance, remotely: ''commande à distance''.^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # ''Prendre ses distances'': to keep aloof, ''tenir la distance'', to last the course.^(Wiktionary)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[distant]]

+ * [[la|distantia]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}