net French · revision 17615
18 Oct 2026, 15:03 by bogdan “French fr10k batch fr75r/b08” current version
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+ Besides the adjective ''net'', from [[la|nitidus]], French borrowed English [[m|en|net]] “net” as a tennis term in 1891.^(Grand Robert 2005)^(DHLF 1992)
+
+ {{homograph|1|clean, clear}}
+
+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=first half of the 12th century, Oxford Psalter|origins=la niteō}}
+
+ ==Pronunciation==
+ * IPA: /nɛt/^(Wiktionary)
+
+ ==Forms==
+ '''net''' (feminine nette, masculine plural nets, feminine plural nettes)^(Wiktionary)
+
+ ==Etymology==
+ The adjective is [[inh|la|nitidus|t=shining, bright; clean; elegant]], through a contracted Vulgar Latin form [[m|la-vul|*nittus]], according to Wiktionary.^(TLFi)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Wiktionary) [[m|la|nitidus|alt=Nitidus]] comes from [[m|la|niteō|t=to shine]]; from “shining” came the very close notion “clean”, as in Plautus's “nitidae aedes”.^(TLFi)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(GLLF 1989) The ⟨t⟩ is still sounded, an exception to the loss of final ⟨t⟩ after a vowel since the 11th century.^(TLFi) Cognate with [[pro|net]], [[ca|net]], [[es|neto]] and [[it|netto]].^(Littré 1873)
+
+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==
+ The Oxford Psalter (first half of the 12th century) renders ''immaculati in via'' as ''Beneüré li net en la veie'', “Blessed are the undefiled in the way”; the moral sense, “pure, without stain”, came first.^(TLFi)^(Littré 1873)
+
+ ==Semantic evolution==
+ Guernes de Pont-Sainte-Maxence (1174–1176) uses it for an upright person (''de nette gent fu nez'').^(TLFi) The physical sense, clean, is in Chrétien de Troyes's ''avoir les mains nettes'' (about 1175), figuratively in Amyot (1559); of a liquid, clear, in Wace (about 1155).^(GLLF 1989) About 1195 Ambroise uses it for what is without ambiguity, clear-cut.^(TLFi) From the end of the 15th century (Commynes) it meant “empty, free of encumbrance”, whence ''faire place nette'' (1694).^(GLLF 1989) In commerce it means after deductions, as opposed to gross.^(Wiktionary) As an adverb it is found in ''casser net comme une pipe'' in 1789.^(BHVF) The adjective has partly given way to [[propre]].^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)
+
+ ==Timeline==
+ * First half of the 12th century – “Pure”, in the Oxford Psalter.^(TLFi)
+ * c. 1155 – Of a clear liquid, in Wace.^(GLLF 1989)
+ * c. 1175 – ''Avoir les mains nettes'', in Chrétien de Troyes.^(GLLF 1989)
+ * c. 1195 – “Clear-cut”, in Ambroise.^(TLFi)
+ * Late 15th century – “Empty, cleared”, in Commynes.^(GLLF 1989)
+ * 1690 – ''Avoir la conscience nette''.^(GLLF 1989)
+ * 1694 – ''Faire place nette''.^(GLLF 1989)
+
+ ==Meanings==
+ ===Adjective===
+ # [[propre|alt=Clean]], spotless: ''avoir les mains nettes'', ''avoir la conscience nette'', to have nothing to reproach oneself with.^(Le Robert)^(GLLF 1989)
+ # Cleared, free of what encumbers: ''faire place nette''.^(Le Robert)^(GLLF 1989)
+ # [[m|en|clear|alt=Clear]], distinct, sharp, ''en avoir le cœur net'', to get to the bottom of it.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)
+ # ''(commerce)'' [[m|en|net]], after deductions, as opposed to gross.^(Wiktionary)^(Petit Robert 2007)
+
+ ===Adverb===
+ # Abruptly, clean: ''casser net''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(BHVF)
+
+ ===Noun===
+ # ''Au net'': in a clean, final form: ''un manuscrit recopié au net''.^(Larousse)
+
+ ==Word family==
+ * [[nettement]]
+ * [[netteté]]
+ * [[nettoyer]]
+
+ {{homograph|2|tennis}}
+
+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1891|origins=en net}}
+
+ ==Pronunciation==
+ * IPA: /nɛt/^(Wiktionary)
+
+ ==Forms==
+ '''net''' (feminine nette, masculine plural nets, feminine plural nettes)^(Wiktionary)
+
+ ==Etymology==
+ The tennis term is [[bor|en|net|t=net; tennis net]], a word with many Germanic counterparts, perhaps from an Indo-European root also behind Latin [[m|la|nassa|t=fish trap]].^(DHLF 1992)^(Petit Robert 2007)
+
+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==
+ It is recorded in 1891 in tennis.^(DHLF 1992)^(Grand Robert 2005)
+
+ ==Semantic evolution==
+ French speakers confused it with English ''let'', a serve to be played again because the ball touched the net; the term is dated and is often replaced by ''let'' or by the French ''à remettre''.^(DHLF 1992)^(Larousse)
+
+ ==Meanings==
+ ===Noun===
+ # ''(tennis, table tennis, volleyball; dated)'' A [[m|en|let]]: a serve that touches the top of the net, ''net !''^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Larousse)
+
+ ==Related words==
+ * [[la|nitidus]]
+
+ ==Usage notes==
+ ''Le Net'', the Internet, borrowed in 1995 from English ''net'' “network”, is written with a capital; the French equivalent is ''la Toile''.^(Grand Robert 2005)^(Petit Robert 2007)
+
+ ==References==
+ {{reflist}}