céder French · revision 17591

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1377, Oresme|origins=la cēdō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /se.de/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''céder'''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la|cēdō|t=to go; to withdraw, give way]], which also meant “to be inferior” and “to concede”.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Grand Robert 2005) Its origin is not clear;^(DHLF 1992) Rey mentions a possible link with [[m|la|cadō|t=to fall]].^(DHLF 1992) Cognate with [[es|ceder]] and [[it|cedere]].^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Oresme, in the ''Livre du ciel et du monde'' (1377), uses it for something that gives way under pressure.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ That physical sense seems to have been abandoned in the classical period and was taken up again from 1798 (Académie: ''la porte céda'').^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Littré 1873) In the 16th century it took the sense “to give up”, first as ''ceder a'' (Jean Lemaire de Belges, 1511), then transitively in law for transferring a right or property (Rabelais, 1534: ''je luy cede la mestairye'').^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Littré 1873) ''Ceder lieu'', to make way, dates from 1537, and about 1580 it meant to give way before a stronger power, especially in war.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) It spread in the 17th century, with ''céder le pas'' and ''ne le céder en rien à quelqu'un'' (1671), ''céder la place'' (Pascal), and the absolute “to submit” (1673).^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) In 1890 it is used of a woman giving herself to a man.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1377 – “To give way under pressure”, in Oresme.^(TLFi)

+ * 1511 – ''Ceder a'' “to give up”, in Lemaire de Belges.^(TLFi)

+ * 1534 – The legal sense, in Rabelais.^(TLFi)

+ * 1537 – ''Ceder lieu''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1671 – ''Céder le pas'', ''ne le céder en rien''.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1798 – The physical sense again, in the Académie.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To give up, hand over something to someone: ''céder sa place'', ''céder la parole'', ''céder du terrain'', to fall back, to make [[m|en|concession|alt=concessions]].^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Le Robert)

+ # ''(law, commerce)'' To [[m|en|transfer|alt=transfer]] the ownership of: ''céder un fonds, un bail''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Littré 1873)

+ # ''Ne le céder en rien à quelqu'un'': to be in no way inferior to them.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(DHLF 1992)

+ # ''Céder à'': to [[m|en|yield|alt=yield]] to, stop resisting: ''céder à la tentation''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Larousse)

+ # To give way, break under pressure: ''la porte céda sous nos efforts''.^(Littré 1873)^(Larousse)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[cédant]]

+ * [[rétrocéder]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[cession]]

+ * [[concéder]]

+ * [[accéder]]

+ * [[procéder]]

+ * [[la|cēdō]]

+ * [[en|cede]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}