Une étude diachronique du suffixe -ard : un examen du sens de quelques mots médiévaux

Sammanfattning: This study examines the supposedly pejorative nature of the Germanic derived suffix -ard in French medieval words and their contemporary counterparts. The author looks at the words used in medieval writings available in the online database Frantext Moyen Français, which features texts dating from the year 1330 to 1502. The study reveals that while a large portion of the words ending in -ard in this database can be considered pejorative, a group of words does not carry this connotation, such as words referring to colours or objects. Some words were pejorative in Old French but have lost this connotation over time, while others have disappeared only to reappear centuries later with new meanings. The study also shows that -ard was used to form many types of words – nouns, verbs and adjectives – which take their derivation from several different languages (e.g. Latin, Dutch, Spanish etc.). Sometimes it also seems to appear without any obvious reason, for example when it replaces an already existing suffix. Because of the changeable nature of language, words carrying the ending -ard must be examined in the context in which they occur in order to be properly understood.