attente French · revision 17578

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 1050, Vie de saint Alexis|origins=la attendō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /a.tɑ̃t/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''attente''' ''f'' (plural attentes)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old French [[m|fro|atente]];^(Grand Robert 2005)^(Petit Robert 2007) ''attente'' is recorded from 1567.^(Grand Robert 2005)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|fro|atente]], [[inh|la-vul|*attendita]], the feminine of a past participle of [[m|la|attendō|t=to stretch towards, pay attention to]] that replaced classical [[m|la|attenta]] and had disappeared before the first French texts.^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Grand Robert 2005) It is the noun of [[attendre]].^(DHLF 1992) Littré compares [[pro|atenda]] and [[m|pro|atenta]].^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ It appears about 1050 in the ''Vie de saint Alexis''.^(GLLF 1989)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) Thirteenth-century texts use it for a delay, as in ''n'i firent longue atente'' (''Berte''), and for expectation, as in Beaumanoir's ''sans attente de secours''.^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ From the start it named both the time spent waiting and the state of mind of someone who expects something; in the 15th century it could also mean attention or study.^(Littré 1873)^(GLLF 1989) It entered set phrases: ''pierre d'attente'', a toothing stone left for a future wall (1676), ''salle d'attente'', the waiting room of a station or a doctor, and ''course d'attente'' in cycling (1860).^(DHLF 1992)^(Littré 1873)^(GLLF 1989) ''Contre toute attente'' means contrary to all expectations.^(Larousse) ''Attentisme'' and ''attentiste'', for a wait-and-see policy, were formed about 1918.^(DHLF 1992) In aviation the ''circuit d'attente'' is the holding pattern of planes before landing.^(Larousse)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1050 – ''Atente'' in the ''Vie de saint Alexis''.^(GLLF 1989)

+ * 13th century – Delay and expectation, in ''Berte'' and Beaumanoir.^(Littré 1873)

+ * 1567 – The spelling ''attente''.^(Grand Robert 2005)

+ * 1676 – ''Pierre d'attente''.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1860 – ''Course d'attente'' in cycling.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * c. 1918 – ''Attentisme'', ''attentiste''.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The act of [[attendre|alt=waiting]]; the time one waits: ''deux heures d'attente'', ''l'attente n'a pas été longue''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Larousse)

+ # ''Salle'', ''salon d'attente'': a [[m|en|waiting room]], ''liste d'attente'', a waiting list, ''en attente'', on hold.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Le Robert)

+ # The state of expecting something; [[m|en|expectation]], hope: ''répondre à l'attente générale'', ''contre toute attente''.^(GLLF 1989)^(Larousse)

+ # ''(aviation)'' ''Circuit d'attente'': a [[m|en|holding pattern]].^(Larousse)

+ # ''(military)'' A shoulder-strap insignia.^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[attentisme]]

+ * [[attentiste]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[attendre]]

+ * [[attentif]]

+ * [[attention]]

+ * [[la|attendō]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}