Proper Name and Linguistic Transfer: Appellative Derivatives of Ancient Proper Names in the Trésor de la Langue Française

Abstract

The article discusses the problems of etymologization of some proper names derivatives with an etymon related to the Greek or Latin antiquity in the dictionary Trésor de la Langue Française (TLF). The research is part of the TLF-Étym Project aimed at improving etymologies in TLF lexicographic acrticles. The analysis of 45 deonyms reveals inaccuracies in the indication of the categorial status of borrowed lexemes or their etymons (the latter either being a deonym or a proper name). Analyzing the structure of Latin testimonies, the authors conclude that the Latin proper names could have been lexicalized in French on the basis of figurative uses found in Latin texts well-known to French erudites.

Keywords

• French language
• linguistic transfer
• deonym
• lexicalization
• proper name borrowing