Doublet Lexical
A doublet lexical (or "duplicate") is a pair of words differing in form or meaning of the same origin but etymological , entered the language through channels (and most often at times) different. In general, each pair specializes in a particular direction, more or less close to that has kept the other.
This is true of many words French : French is part slowly from the Latin spoken and popular, by successive transformations that explain the major differences between Latin and French (eg regalus gave " Royal "by evolution phonetic very slow). Another part of the French words borrowed directly from Latin (classical, in general, but also of ecclesiastical Latin Middle Ages or the Renaissance ): the case of the technical term 'prerogative', borrowed from Latin regalis. The term borrowed directly suffered only minor modifications, while the term derived from the Vulgar Latin has undergone major changes (palatalization of Dating of the onset of words in an etymological dictionary
The result of these differences between the popular and run the technical term within the duplication that the date of onset of the technical term can be determined fairly accurately (especially technical terms being used - and even invented or borrowed - to writing), while the onset date of the term popular duplicates will not be the date of invention, but the date of the first case documented in writing: the writing is in fact the only source of information etymology, which prevents a precise dating of the terms so popular pills.
Examples
For example, gourd and pumpkin are doublets derived from Latin cucurbita, first entered the language in the thirteenth century , the second in the second half of the fourteenth. So that means Cucurbita squash, gourd form refers to employment that can make a gourd as a container transport while the second refers to the vegetable well. The difference in meaning is due, in turn, by the fact that squash has entered the language after gourd, and therefore has not undergone all the phonetic modifications which have taken place until the fourteenth century , as the voicing of initial / k /, / g /.
But still:
- Royal / Regal (rex, regis)
- Male / hominid (hominis, with one m)
Doublets popular and scholarly
The borrowing of Latin words has produced many lexical doublets: the French language from the Latin by a slow evolution, any word borrowed from the mother tongue standard and artificially introduced into the lexicon is likely to encounter from his double after a more or less long evolution, the same Latin word introduced earlier or directly inherited. This process has been constant during the Middle Ages in Old French. On the other hand, relatinisation of the French language occurred in the Renaissance (especially visible in the sixteenth century ), when it was imported from the Latin words Anglicized scientists said the most frequently employed in technical fields or in a literary vocabulary, also gave rise to many doublets. Called after the form of Vulgar Latin "doublet People", the artificially introduced into the language from the classical or ecclesiastical Latin "learned doublet.
The words derived directly from Latin or borrowed therefore suffered a phonetic evolution more important than the latest pair, which explains the differences of signifier and signified, even more important when the gap between the two words is extended in time. Here are some examples (doublet doublet People ~ learned Latin etymon; dates indicate the first known written statement in French, however, adopting a modern spelling):
- snatch (XII century) ~ eradicate (XIV century) eradicare
- banker (XII century) ~ bank (XIX century) bancariu (m)
- square (XII century) ~ quadrat (XVII century, via the Italian quadrato) quadratu (m)
- luck (XII century) ~ Cadence (sixteenth century through the Italian cadenza) cadentia (m)
- Chair (XII century) ~ cathedra (XIII century) cathedra (m)
- puny (XI century) ~ captive (XV century) captivu (m)
- couple (XII century) ~ copula (XV century) copula (m)
- Lock (XI century) ~ excluded (XIII century) excluded (m), feminine past participle of the verb excludere
- forfeiture (XII century) ~ decay (XVI century) decadentia (m)
- schoolboy (XIII century) ~ School (XIX century) scholariu (m)
- listen (tenth century) ~ auscultate (XVI century) auscultare
- writing (XII century) ~ Script (XX century) scriptural (m)
- enchanter / enchantress (XII century) ~ Incanter / incantatrice (XV century) incantator (em) / incantatric (em)
- bishopric (tenth century) ~ episcopate (XVII century) episcopatu (m)
- sink (XIII century) ~ Aquarium (XIX century) aquariu (m)
- way (XII century) ~ faction (XIV century) factio (nem)
- farm (XII century) ~ firm (XIX century) firma (m)
- sheath (XIII century) ~ vagina (XVII century) vagina (m)
- vassal (XII century) ~ faithful (tenth century, reintroduced in the sixteenth century) Trusty (m)
- frail (XI century) ~ fragile (XIV century) fragile (m)
- Hail (XII century) ~ gracile (XVI century) gracile (m)
- hotel (XI century) ~ hospital (XII century) hospitale (m)
- gum (XII century) ~ chew (XVI century) masticare
- art (XI century) ~ Ministry (XIII century) ministeriu (m)
- monastery (XI century) ~ Monastery (XIII century) monasteriu (m)
- medium (XIII century) ~ median (XVI century) medianu (m)
- Christmas (XII century) ~ chart (XVI century) home (m)
- mature (XII century) ~ mature (XX century anglicism) maturu (m)
- work (XII century) ~ Opera (XVII century) opera, plural of opus
- Pillow (XII century) ~ Ear (XVI century) auricularis
- toe (XII century) ~ article (XII century) articulu (m)
- speech (XI century) ~ parable (XIII century) parabola (m)
- Poison (XII century) ~ potion (XVI century) potion (m)
- reason (tenth century) ~ ration (XIII century) ratione (m)
- shame (XIII century) ~ vrcondie (XVI century) verecundia (m)
- Catering (XVII century) ~ tractor (XVIII century) tractor (em)
According to Ferdinand de Saussure in his Course in General Linguistics , one can not speak of doublet (or duplicate) from the Latin. Indeed, words are borrowed mostly from the medieval Latin language somewhat artificial, learned or rebuilt: in any case quite different from the popular Latin, part of which comes from the French by slow evolution.
Other cases
The case of squash gourd ~ Another type of pairs as both are popular.
Contrary to what this article might suggest, the phenomenon of lexical doublets is not limited to the Romance languages : Japanese, for example, strike the same English word ("ball" and "strike"), you get two words of loan , depending on the direction;sutoraiku for a coup (in baseball or bowling ) andsutoraiki for a strike. This type of doublet is however quite distant from those of the French, because there is no question of phonetic evolution.
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