foncer French · revision 38683

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=1375|origins=la fundus}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /fɔ̃.se/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''foncer'''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is derived from [[m|fro|fons]], [[m|fro|fonz]], the old forms of [[fond|t=bottom]], with the verb ending [[m|fr|-er]].^(TLFi)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(Wiktionary)^(FEW|3, 870b) That noun and [[fonds]] go back to [[la|fundus|t=bottom; piece of land]].^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(REW 1935)

+

+ The sense “to darken” comes from the idea that a dark shade looks sunk in compared with a light one.^(DHLF 1992)^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) The intransitive sense “to rush at” is explained by Rey as an alteration of [[fondre|t=to swoop]], and by Bloch and Wartburg as a 17th-century formation modelled on that verb's construction with ⟨sur⟩;^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Petit Robert 2007) it is linked to the phrase [[à fond]].^(DHLF 1992) The TLFi gives the darkening sense a numbered article of its own, also derived from the noun.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ It is first found in 1375 as a past participle, in an inventory: ''chaise fonsee de paille'', “a chair with a straw seat”, that is, fitted with a bottom.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Grand Robert 2005) Bloch and Wartburg, the GLLF and the Petit Robert date the verb to 1389.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(GLLF 1989)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The first sense, “to fit with a bottom”, was used of casks and chairs, and in cookery of lining a mould with pastry (1757) or a pan with bacon and vegetables (1802).^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) Littré quotes Olivier de Serres: ''tonneaux foncés des deux bouts'', “casks with a head at both ends”.^(Littré 1873) From the bottom the verb passed to digging downwards: ''il fonse et cave une fosse profonde'' (1605, Le Loyer), and then to driving something down (1752), as with a stake (1890).^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

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+ The colour sense, “to make a shade darker”, dates from 1740; its past participle [[foncé]] became a common adjective in 1690, the opposite of [[clair]].^(DHLF 1992) The sense “to throw oneself at” appears in 1680, and, from it, in familiar French, “to go straight ahead very fast” (1866).^(DHLF 1992) From this energetic sense came [[fonceur]] (1914), a bold go-getter.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1375 – ''Chaise fonsee de paille''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1605 – “To dig”, in Le Loyer.^(TLFi)

+ * 1680 – “To charge, rush at”.^(DHLF 1992)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+ * 1690 – The adjective ''foncé'' “dark”.^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)

+ * 1740 – “To make (a colour) darker”.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1757 – The pastry sense, in the ''Encyclopédie''.^(TLFi)

+ * 1866 – “To go very fast”.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1914 – The derivative ''fonceur''.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Verb===

+ # ''(technical)'' To fit a [[m|en|cask]] or a chair with a bottom.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(TLFi)

+ # ''(cooking)'' To line a mould or dish with pastry, bacon or vegetables: ''foncer un moule à tarte''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(TLFi)

+ # ''(technical)'' To dig or [[m|en|sink]] a shaft: ''foncer un puits''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(GLLF 1989)

+ # To make a colour darker; intransitive, to [[m|en|darken]]: ''le ciel a foncé''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''Foncer sur'': to rush at, [[m|en|charge]]: ''le chien fonça sur le facteur''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(familiar)'' To go straight ahead very fast, tear along; to get a move on, go for it.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[foncé]]

+ * [[fonceur]]

+ * [[fonçage]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[fond]]

+ * [[fonds]]

+ * [[enfoncer]]

+ * [[défoncer]]

+ * [[la|fundus]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}