saison French · revision 17673

+ {{infobox|confidence=probable|formation=inherited|attested=1119, Philippe de Thaon, Comput|origins=la serō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /sɛ.zɔ̃/^(Wiktionary)

+ * IPA: /se.zɔ̃/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''saison''' ''f'' (plural saisons)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old French [[m|fro|seison]], [[m|fro|seson]];^(DHLF 1992)^(Wiktionary) ''saison'' from about 1175.^(DHLF 1992)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|fro|seison]], [[inh|la|satiō|t=sowing; sowing time; seed]], in its accusative form.^(DHLF 1992)^(TLFi)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(FEW|11, 240b) The Latin noun is derived from [[m|la|satum]], supine of [[m|la|serō|t=to sow, plant]], from an Indo-European root meaning “to sow”, the root of [[semer]].^(DHLF 1992)^(GLLF 1989) The sense passed from the sowing season, the season par excellence, to the other seasons.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Littré 1873) Cognate with [[pro|sazon]], [[es|sazón]] and [[pt|sazão]]; the Spanish word means only “the right time”.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Littré 1873)

+

+ Scheler doubted this origin, because [[it|stagione]] cannot be separated from the French word; the Italian word comes from [[la|statiō|t=a standing still]], used in astronomy of the apparent halts of the sun in the signs of the zodiac.^(Littré 1873)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) The Grand Robert mentions that Latin word as another proposal.^(Grand Robert 2005)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ In Philippe de Thaon's ''Comput'' (1119) it means the weather: ''Averum bele saisun'', “we shall have fine weather”.^(TLFi)^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ From the weather it came to mean an indeterminate period of time (about 1140), a sense that lasted into the 18th century, with lost phrases such as ''en nule saison'' “never” and ''longue saison'' “for a long time”.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) ''En saison'' (Chrétien de Troyes, 1176) and ''hors de saison'' (1266) refer to the right or wrong moment.^(TLFi)

+

+ It named the time of year for particular farm work and the period when crops ripen (about 1160), hence ''fruits de saison'' and ''marchande des quatre saisons''.^(DHLF 1992)^(GLLF 1989) About 1240–60 Philippe de Novare uses it for each of the four divisions of the year.^(TLFi)^(GLLF 1989) Later senses include the season for an activity or a resort (''la saison des bains''), ''la saison des amours'' (1805, after Buffon's ''saison de l'amour'', 1770) and, in sport, the season of competitions.^(TLFi)^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary) Du Bellay (1554–57) uses it for each age of life.^(TLFi) Derivatives include [[assaisonner]] (13th century), [[morte-saison]] (1382) and [[saisonnier]] (1775).^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1119 – ''Saisun'' “weather” in Philippe de Thaon.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1140 – “Period of time”, in Gaimar.^(TLFi)

+ * 1176 – ''En leu et an seison'' in Chrétien de Troyes.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1260 – One of the four divisions of the year.^(TLFi)

+ * 1382 – ''Morte-saison''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1554–57 – Du Bellay: an age of life.^(TLFi)

+ * 1775 – ''Saisonnier''.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+ * 1805 – ''La saison des amours'' in Cuvier.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|season]], one of the four divisions of the year.^(Wiktionary)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ # A period of the year marked by its climate: ''la belle saison'', ''la saison des pluies''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # The time of year for certain crops or farm work: ''fruits de saison'', ''la saison des vendanges''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(DHLF 1992)

+ # The period of activity of a resort, a trade or a sport: ''haute saison'', ''la saison théâtrale''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''De saison'': appropriate, ''hors de saison'': out of place, untimely.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[assaisonner]]

+ * [[demi-saison]]

+ * [[saisonnier]]

+ * [[arrière-saison]]

+ * [[morte-saison]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[semer]]

+ * [[station]]

+ * [[la|satiō]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}