soigner French · revision 17557

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 1165, Guillaume d'Angleterre|origins=frk *sunnjōn}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /swa.ɲe/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''soigner'''^(Wiktionary)

+ Old French [[m|fro|soignier]], [[m|fro|songnier]];^(DHLF 1992)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(GLLF 1989) ''soigner'' from the 14th century.^(DHLF 1992)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|fro|soignier]], [[inh|la-med|soniō|t=to take care; to provide for]], recorded from the 7th century, itself borrowed from Frankish [[m|frk|*sunnjōn|t=to look after]], a derivative of [[m|frk|*sunnja|t=care]], reconstructed from [[osx|sunnea|t=care]].^(DHLF 1992)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(Petit Robert 2007)^(FEW|17, 273a) Bloch and Wartburg derive it straight from the Frankish verb and Old French [[m|fro|soigne|t=care]] from the Frankish noun; compare [[besoin]].^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) An Old Italian word and [[pro|sonh]] were borrowed from French.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ In ''Guillaume d'Angleterre'' (about 1165), attributed to Chrétien de Troyes, it means “to provide, supply”; 13th-century charters use ''songnier'' for supplying timber or a cart.^(TLFi)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Until the 16th century it also meant “to be anxious, to see to”, construed with ''de'' (Froissart: ''soigner de Tournay'', to take care of Tournai) and then with ''à'' (1538), a use in which it interfered with [[songer]].^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Littré 1873) Robert Estienne (1538) has the transitive “to take care of”, and the 1718 Académie ''soigner les bêtes'', ''soigner un enfant''.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ The now usual sense “to treat (a sick person)” is recorded by Monet in 1636, with ''se soigner'' from 1829.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) ''Soigner son style'' “to take care over” is in Trévoux (1771).^(TLFi) By antiphrase, ''soigner quelqu'un'' meant “to thrash” (1867), and ''il faut te faire soigner'', “you must be mad”, is a 20th-century phrase.^(DHLF 1992)^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1080 – The noun ''soin'', in the ''Chanson de Roland''.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+ * c. 1165 – “To provide”, in ''Guillaume d'Angleterre''.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1360 – ''Soigner de'' “to see to”.^(DHLF 1992)^(Grand Robert 2005)

+ * 1538 – “To take care of”, in Robert Estienne.^(TLFi)

+ * 1636 – ''Soigner un malade'', in Monet.^(TLFi)

+ * 1771 – ''Soigner son style''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1867 – “To thrash”, by antiphrase.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To look after, take care of (a person, an animal, a thing): ''soigner ses hôtes'', ''soigner des fleurs''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # To [[m|en|treat]], [[m|en|nurse]] (a sick person or an illness).^(Wiktionary)^(TLFi)

+ # To take great care over: ''soigner les détails'', ''soigner son style''.^(TLFi)^(Littré 1873)

+ # ''Se soigner'': to look after oneself; to take treatment, ''ça se soigne !'', you're mad!^(Le Robert)^(DHLF 1992)

+ # ''(familiar, ironic)'' To treat harshly; to overcharge.^(GLLF 1989)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[soin]]

+ * [[soigneux]]

+ * [[soigneusement]]

+ * [[soignant]]

+ * [[soigné]]

+ * [[soigneur]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[besoin]]

+ * [[songer]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}