semblable French · revision 17661

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=c. 1155, Wace|origins=la similis}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /sɑ̃.blabl/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''semblable''' (plural semblables)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[af|fr|sembler|-able]], formed on the old sense of the verb, “to be like, resemble”.^(Grand Robert 2005)^(Wiktionary)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) [[sembler]] continues [[la-lat|similō|t=to be like, resemble]], from [[m|la|similis|t=like, similar]].^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) Cognate with [[pro|semblable]] and [[it|sembiabile]].^(Littré 1873)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Wace (about 1155) uses it of things that resemble each other;^(GLLF 1989)^(TLFi) ''Guillaume d'Angleterre'' (about 1165) has ''sanlables'', “alike”.^(GLLF 1989)^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The construction ''semblable à'', “resembling”, is recorded in a manuscript of 1267, and about 1265 Brunetto Latini uses it to introduce the second term of a comparison.^(TLFi)^(Petit Robert 2007) In mathematics it was said of numbers (1484, Chuquet) and of figures (1639, Mersenne).^(TLFi)^(GLLF 1989) From 1587 it was used with a demonstrative value for something just mentioned, and placed before the noun it means “of that kind”, as in Molière's ''Tartuffe'' (1669): ''en semblable occasion''.^(TLFi)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+

+ As a noun it means a person or thing like another (Oresme, 1370–72), as in the proverb ''chose semblable aime son semblable''; with a possessive, ''nos semblables'', it names one's fellow men.^(TLFi)^(Littré 1873) ''Rester semblable à soi-même'' is recorded in 1671.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1155 – In Wace.^(GLLF 1989)

+ * c. 1165 – ''Sanlables'' in ''Guillaume d'Angleterre''.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1265 – Brunetto Latini: in a comparison.^(TLFi)

+ * 1370–72 – The noun, in Oresme.^(TLFi)^(Littré 1873)

+ * 1484 – Chuquet: ''nombre semblable''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1639 – Mersenne: similar figures.^(TLFi)

+ * 1669 – Molière: “of that kind”, before the noun.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # [[m|en|similar|alt=Similar]], like: ''semblable à ses voisines'', ''je n'ai jamais rien vu de semblable''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # In the plural, alike, resembling one another.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(TLFi)

+ # ''(mathematics)'' Of figures, having the same shape: ''triangles semblables''.^(GLLF 1989)^(TLFi)

+ # Placed before the noun, such, of that kind: ''en semblable occasion''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(TLFi)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|fellow]] creature, fellow man: ''nos semblables''.^(Wiktionary)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # A person or thing like another: ''il n'a pas son semblable''.^(TLFi)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[sembler]]

+ * [[ressembler]]

+ * [[semblant]]

+ * [[la|similis]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}