comte French · revision 17512

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=second half of the 10th century, Vie de saint Léger|origins=la comes}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /kɔ̃t/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''comte''' ''m'' (plural comtes, feminine comtesse)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old French oblique case [[m|fro|compte]], [[m|fro|conte]], subject case [[m|fro|cuens]], [[m|fro|cons]], [[m|fro|quens]]; the subject form lasted until the 14th century.^(TLFi)^(Littré 1873)^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|fro|conte]], [[inh|la|comes|t=companion; member of an emperor's retinue]], through its accusative case.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(FEW|2, 940b) The Latin subject case gave Old French [[m|fro|cuens]], later driven out by the oblique form.^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Littré 1873) The Latin noun is formed from [[m|la|cum|t=with]] and [[m|la|eō|t=to go]], “one who goes with”.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ Under Constantine it came to mean a high official in the emperor's suite, sent to the provinces with full powers; the Merovingian and Visigothic kings kept the title for their envoys, and under the Carolingians the growth of feudalism made it a title of nobility.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(TLFi) Cognate with [[es|conde]] and [[pt|conde]];^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(DHLF 1992) Bloch and Wartburg think that [[it|conte]] was borrowed from French.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The ''Vie de saint Léger'' (second half of the 10th century) has ''compte'' for a high officer of the kingdom, here the mayor of the palace Ebroin.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In the early Middle Ages the count was a high officer who often held a civil or military command from the king; with ''baron'' it was one of the chief titles of the great vassals.^(DHLF 1992) About 1050 the ''Vie de saint Alexis'' uses it for a dignitary of the late Roman empire, a sense kept in history.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) The feudal sense “holder of a county” is found in the early 12th century, and it gradually became a mere title of nobility between marquis and viscount.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+

+ In 17th-century slang ''comte de la Carruche'' was a jailer (1630); 19th-century argot used ''comte'' for a simpleton (1872) and for a crooked gambler's accomplice (1878), senses since lost.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Timeline==

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

+ * c. 1050 – ''Cons'', ''conpta'' in the ''Vie de saint Alexis''.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1100 – ''Cuntesse'' “countess” in the ''Chanson de Roland''.^(TLFi)

+ * Early 12th century – Feudal sense “holder of a county”.^(TLFi)

+ * 1407 – The spelling ''comte''.^(TLFi)^(Grand Robert 2005)

+ * 1630 – Slang ''comte de la Carruche'' “jailer”.^(TLFi)

+ * 1872 – Argot “simpleton”.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|count]] or [[m|en|earl]]: a title of nobility between [[marquis]] and [[vicomte]]: ''Monsieur le Comte''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Larousse)

+ # ''(feudalism)'' The lord of a [[comté]].^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # ''(history)'' A high [[m|en|dignitary]] of the late Roman empire or of the Frankish kingdoms: ''comte palatin''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Larousse)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[comtesse]]

+ * [[comté]]

+ * [[comtal]]

+ * [[vicomte]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[comtat]]

+ * [[la|comes]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}