Anita HönleGriechische Renaissance in Frankreich

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This paper examines loanwords which were borrowed from Greek during the 16th century and are still part of the French lexicon. To this aim, a corpus containing 977 words has been established on the basis of the contents of PR and TLF. For each of these words, an etymological entry has been developed, which summarizes the main information given by PR, TLF, FEW, RobHist and George Liddell‘s and Robert Scott’s Greek-English Lexicon.

The paper puts the examined loanwords into the context of their historical background: First, the reader is given a historical overview of the process of borrowing words from Greek into French before the 16th century. Then, significant developments in 16th-century cultural history are illustrated. The main part of the paper presents the 977 items in thematic subchapters. The latter correspond to different subject areas, whose evolution during 16th century is outlined briefly.

In summary, the paper comes to the following conclusions: 224 words of Greek origin were borrowed into French in the field of medical science and anatomy. 187 items can be registered in the chapter “philosophy” (i.e. chemistry, biology, physics and philosophy), 160 in the area of “linguistics“, literature and rhetoric. 99 loanwords were borrowed due to religion, superstition and mythology, 92 to history and ancient studies, 80 to mathematics, astronomy, astrology and geography, 77 to arts, architecture, drama and music. 58 words cannot be assigned to one of the fields named above and are thereby cited in a “miscellaneous” section.

In the 16th century, the process of borrowing words from Greek into French reached a point of culmination which was only surpassed in the 18th century. The reason for this is not merely the translation of the Greek authorities, but rather a set of various complexly interrelated factors, which were put into effect by humanism, Renaissance and a reorientation towards antiquity. Most of 16th-century Greek loanwords are part of the formal or academic register.

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