Glossary: A-C
Glossary: D-F
Glossary: G-J
Glossary: L-M
Glossary: N-P
Glossary: R-V
See other Musings about Word-Music relations
Return to
introduction to the Glossary of French Terms
Glossary, part 3
Gai/_guay,_gaiement/_gayement
Galant,_galamment
Goût,_avec_goût
Gracieusement
Grave,_gravement
Hardiment
Je_ne_sais_quoi
Gai/ guay, gaiement/ gayement
(gay, cheerful, merry;
gaily, etc.)
Gai, gaie [adj.: "gay"] Having gaiety, being
joyful, being sprightly and jolly. — Richelet, 1681
— Someone [who is gai] likes mirth, or actually is full
of mirth or creates mirth. ... An air gai is a mirthful song.] ...
Bouyantly, in a gay and joyful manner, ardently. — Furetière,
1690, bracketed words added in 1702 edition
— Joyful, rejoicing. — DAF, 1694
— In musical terms, is said of the tempo of an air and corresponds
to the Italian allegro. — DAF, 1762
— Allegro means gai and also indicates a
mouvement [tempo] that is gai. ... Next to presto, the
fastest of all. But this must not lead one to believe that this tempo is
appropriate only for gay subjects; it is also applicable to fits of fury,
anger and despair, which are not gay at all. — Rousseau, 1768
Gaieté [n.: "gaiety"] Joy, gladness,
good humor. — DAF, 1694
Gaiement [adv.: gaily] Joyful, with mirth. —
DAF, 1684
— Gaiement: See allegro, leggiandro,
vivacemente or vivace, stegliato, etc. — Brossard,
1703
[Allegretto: diminutive of allegro, means a bit gaily
but with a gaiety that is gracieuse, pretty, playful, etc.
Allegro: always means gaiement and quite animé;
very often vite and légèrement, but also sometimes
at a moderate tempo, although gay and animé. —
Brossard]
Galant, galamment (gallant; gallantly, politely)
Galant [adj.: "gallant, polite, courteous"]
has several meanings. ... They say at court, "A man is galant, that
he says and does everything galamment, that he dresses
galamment," and a thousand other things. One wonders what a
gallant man or woman of that sort is. ... In the past I noted that
this question was causing a stir among courtiers and among the most
gallant of either sex, who were having a great deal of trouble defining
the word. Some maintained that it was that je ne sais quoi [undefinable
something] that is almost like bonne grâce. Others said that
it was more than this je ne sais quoi or this bonne grâce,
which are purely natural things, but that both had to be accompanied by a
certain air that one assumes at court and that is only acquired by frequenting
men and women of the high nobility. Others said that these external things
did not suffice, and that the word galant was broader than that, that
it embraced a number of qualities, in a word that it was a compound made
up of that je ne sais quoi or bonne grâce, a courtly
air, esprit, judgment, civility, courtesy, gaiety, and all without
constraint, without affectation and without vice. These are the raw materials
of which an upright man of the courtly type is made. — Vaugelas, Remarques,
1647, p. 208
— It has transpired that the word galant has been applied
to everything in the arts that is the most ingenious, the most exquisite,
the most refined, and the wittiest. It has been applied to that je ne
sais quoi that amounts to the blossom or glow of something; and not only
does galanterie [gallantry] appear in fine verse, in letters, in clever
sayings, which are the works of the esprit alone, it has even been
applied to the military, to furniture, to exercise and games, to pleasures
and delights, that is, the pleasures of the learned and the delights of the
wise who possess a fine esprit. — Père Le Moine, La Dévotion
aisée, 1668, pp. 132-33
— Légèreté gives a song what is called
le tour galant [a gallant turn] — Bacilly, 1668
— Sprightly, handsome, agréable, playful and charming,
amorous. ... Having bonne grâce, esprit, judgment, civility,
gaiety, and all of it without affectation. — Richelet, 1681
— In a gallant manner, [de bonne grâce, with
esprit, with civility, politely, ably, adroitly, delicately]. —
Furetière, 1690, with the bracketed words added in 1702
— Honnête, civil, sociable, good company, whose conversation
is agréable. ... Is also said, in flattery or familiarity,
to praise a person for any reason whatsoever. ... It also means seeking to
please the ladies. ... Is also said about things, to mean
agréable, polite. — DAF, 1694
— Brilliante, in a manner that is vif, playful,
galant, animé. — Brossard, 1703
— An air that is galant is what honnête people
achieve and what makes them likeable. The galant air of a conversation
consists of conceiving of things in a delicate, flattering, aisé
and natural manner, and of leaning rather toward pleasantness
[douceur, from doux] and cheerfulness than toward seriousness.
— Trévoux, 1771
Galamment [adv.: "gallantly"], with bonne
grâce, avec esprit, with civility, proprement. —
Richelet, 1681
— In a gallant fashion, graciously [de bonne grâce].
It also means ably, adroitly, delicately. — Furetière, 1690;
and DAF, 1694
Goût, avec goût
(taste, tastefully)
Goût [n.: "taste, savour"] This word taken
figuratively is very widely used: "A man with good taste, a man with bad
taste," that is, who judges things well or badly. ... Term in painting: The
idea that follows the painter's inclination for certain things, his manner.
"A work of great taste" means that everything in it is grand and
noble, clearly defined and drawn. — Richelet, 1681
— One of the five natural senses by which we perceive savours.
... Figuratively it means discernment, finesse in one's judgment. ... It
also means sensitivity. ... It is also used for the agreeable or advantageous
feeling one has about something: "to my taste." ... It also means the way
in which something is made, the particular character of a work. — DAF,
1694
— Is also said about buildings, statues, paintings and everything
that is well conceived and carefully worked. ... Good taste consists of forming
one's own idea about things the very best one can, and following it. ...
Sometimes this word is confused with manière [manner], and
people say: "There is a great mannered work," to mean something in great
taste. — Furetière, 1702
— Of all natural gifts, goût ["taste"] is the one
that makes itself most felt and that is the hardest to explain. It would
not be what it is if it could be defined, for it judges objects that the
judgment can no longer weigh and, if I dare draw such a simile, is the reading
glasses of reason. Among melodies, some songs are more agreeable than others,
although all are equally well modulated. In harmony, some things impress,
others do not, although all are equally correct. Weaving the pieces together
is a fine art that involves using some pieces to make the others stand out,
that involves something more refined than the law of contrasts. In performing
a given piece there are different ways it can be interpreted, without at
any time diverging from the character of the piece. Some of these ways are
more pleasing than others; and far from being able to explain this by rules,
one cannot even define them. Reader, if you can explain these differences
to me, I will be able to tell you what goût is. Every man has
his individual taste, by means of which he arranges in his own way the things
he considers beautiful and good. One person is more moved by pieces that
are pathétique, another prefers tunes that are gai.
A voice that is douce and supple will decorate its songs with ornaments
that are agréable; a voice that is emotional and strong will
animate its songs with intonations that convey passion. One person seeks
simplicity in a melody, another values artful virtuoso passages; both of
them will call their chosen goût "elegance," Sometimes this
diversity stems from the differences between their organs, which their taste
is striving to use to advantage; sometimes it comes from the individual character
of each man, which makes him more sensitive to one pleasure or failing than
to another; sometimes it comes from differences in age or sex, which focus
their desires on different objects. In each of these instances, since each
person has only his own taste to compare with the taste of others, it is
obvious that the questions should not be debated. But there is also a general
taste about which all well constituted people agree. And it is to this alone
that the name goût can unqualifiably be given. If men who are
sufficiently educated and whose ears are sufficiently trained, listen to
a concert, most of them usually will agree in their judgement of the pieces
and about the order in which they would rate them. Ask each one the reasons
behind his judgment, and they will be almost unanimous about some things,
that is, about things that happen to involve rules. And this common judgment
is the artist's or connoisseur's judgment. But among those things that they
agree are good or bad, are some for which they can give no reasons to support
their judgment. This sort of judgment is possessed by the man who has
goût. If there is not perfect unanimity, it is because these
people are not all equally well constituted, because they are not all people
with goût, and because as a result of arbitrary conventions,
prejudices shaped by habit or education often change the ranking of naturally
beautiful things. This sort of taste can be debated, for there is another
way to end the argument besides counting votes when you don't even agree
about what Nature is telling you. This should, however, be the basis upon
which French or Italian music is to be preferred. Moreover, genius creates
but taste chooses: and someone with overly abundant genius often needs a
severe censor who prevents him from misusing his riches. Without taste one
can do great things; but taste is what makes them interesting. It is taste
that causes a composer to grasp the poet's ideas; it is taste that makes
the performer grasp the composer's ideas; it is taste that gives them both
what they need to ornament and make the most of their subject; and it is
taste that gives the listener the feeling of how all these fit together.
Yet taste is not sensitivity. A person whose soul is cold can have a great
deal of taste, and another who gets caught up by truly emotional things may
not be very moved by things that are gracieux. It seems that taste
most appropriately applies to minor expressions [of feeling] and sensitivity
to major ones. — Rousseau, 1768
— Today we use the word goût very elegantly in a
sense different from its original one. "A man with good taste," to mean that
he has discernment and that he judges things with refinement. The great rule
for pleasing is to conform to people's goût and to study what
they like; in this sense goût means specifically "humor." —
Bellegarde, Sur la politesse de style, 1700
Gracieusement (gracefully, becomingly, graciously)
Grâce [n.: "grace"] De bonne
grâce, that is, having a good air about one, a good appearance,
friendship, benevolence. — Richelet, 1681
— A favor, a good deed that someone does without being obliged
to do so. ... Agrément, something pleasing. — DAF,
1694
— A certain agrément in people and things: "Dance or walk
de bonne grâce." — DAF, 1762
Gracieux, gracieuse [adj.: graceful]. This does
not seem to be a good word, whatever meaning one gives it. The most common
meaning is doux, courteous, civil; and indeed, when the word
gracieux is used, it usually is placed after doux (doux
et gracieux, courtois et gracieux), for in such company it is
more easily accepted. — Vaugelas, Remarques, 1647
— This word is not used seriously in prose, unless it is a question
of painting: "A painting has something gracieux about it. — Bouhours,
Remarques nouvelles, 1675
— I think that it could be said of a person who has engaging
manners. — Thomas Corneille, 1687
— Said figuratively about style, about a paintbrush. —
Furetière, 1690
— Agréable, having a great deal of
grâce and agrément. Also signifies doux,
civil, honnête. — DAF, 1694
— Having agrément, honnêteté, douceur,
civility. ... It can be said of persons who have engaging manners; ... and
so gracieux does not mean only civil, upright, obliging, but also
agréable, de bonne grâce, pleasing. It is perhaps overused.
Be that as it may, good authors use it in all these different ways, and today
no word is more in fashion in everyday speech and among the most polite people.
— Furetière, 1702
— Gracieux, see soave, gratioso — Brossard,
1703
[Gratioso, means in a manner that is agréable,
gracieuse, capable of giving pleasure. — Brossard]
— Does not mean precisely the same thing as
agréable. Strictly speaking, gracieux means someone
who pleases or wants to please. ... It is rather through their manners than
through their bearing that men are gracieux. ... The word
gracieux should not be confused with upright, civil, polite, affable.
... Gracieux and agréable do not always refer to personal
qualities In that case, the word gracieux expresses, strictly speaking,
something that flatters [flatter] the senses or the self-esteem; and
the word agréable expresses something that suits one's
goût and esprit. — Trévoux, 1771
Gracieusement [adv.: "gracefully"] In a manner
that is gracieuse. — DAF, 1694
— Andante, it characterizes a tempo that is
marqué without being gai and that corresponds roughly
to the one designated in French by the word gracieusement. —
Rousseau, 1768
Grave, gravement (grave; gravely, solemnly, sedately)
Grave [adj.: "grave, solemn"] is used figuratively
for something majestic, serious, posé — Furetière,
1690
— Figuratively, means serious, acting or speaking with a sagacious
air, with dignity and circumspection. — DAF, 1694
— Is also said about style, about speech. An author is called
grave when he is very weighty, has great authority in what he is saying.
— Furetière, 1702
Gravement [adv: "gravely, solemnly"] Serious,
majestueux, having solemnity — Richelet, 1681
— Figuratively means in a manner that is grave and
composé. — DAF, 1694
[Composé: having a good temperament. ... It is also
said that a man is composé to mean that he has, or acts as
if he has, an air about him that is grave, an air that is serious
and modest — DAF, 1694]
— Is not used to mean pesamment [heavily]. It is only
used to mean a manner that is grave and composé —
DAF, 1762
— Grave or gravement, an adverb that shows the
slowness of the tempo and, in addition, a certain gravity in execution. —
Rousseau, 1768
— In music it means a slow tempo, but not as slow as the one
indicated by the word lentement, in French music. ... In Italian music
it is the slowest tempo. — Trévoux, 1771
Hardiment (boldly, fearlessly, audaciously,
impudently)
Hardi, hardie [adj.: "bold, daring"] Brave,
valiant, courageous .... Also means impudent, saucy. ... Is sometimes simply
the opposite of modest. ... Also sometimes means assured, firm, and is especially
said about the hand: "That writer has a hand that is hardi, that
lutenist's hand is hardi, his playing is fort and brilliant.
— Furetière, 1690
— Courageous, assured. Sometimes also means insolent, impudent.
... Is also said about extraordinary things in some art form that are done
with a great deal of genius: "A drawing that is very hardi." ... In
referring to an instrumental performer who has a firm and brilliant technique,
one says that "his playing is hardi." — DAF, 1694
— "A pen that is hardi" is said of an author who writes
about subjects that are delicate and difficult to handle ... and who in his
manner of writing finds that he is above the usual rules. It is said of a
writer who pens fine literary passages that others would have difficulty
writing, that "he has a pen that is hardi." ... It is also said that
an expression, a figure is hardi, to mean that is has something noble
and felicitously daring about it. — Trévoux, 1771
Hardiesse [n.: "daring, boldness"] A sort of
virtue that consists of attacking prudently. Assurance that one possesses
to do or undertake something. — Richelet, 1681
— Courage, assurance, the quality of someone who is hardi.
... It is sometimes used for temerity, insolence, impudence. — DAF,
1694
Hardiment [adv.: "boldly"] With
hardiesse. ... Also means freely, without hesitating, without vacillating.
— DAF, 1694
Je ne sais quoi ("I don't know what")
— The je ne sais quoi is the high-quality life, the sound
of words, the soul of actions, the luster of everything that is beautiful.
Other perfections are the ornament of nature, the je ne sais quoi is
the ornament of perfection. It can be observed even in the way one reasons,
it comes more from privilege than from study, for it even is above all
disciplines. It is not limited to facileness, for it reaches as far as the
most refined gallantry. It presupposes a free and disengaged mind, and to
this disengagement it adds the last touch of perfection. Without it all beauty
is dead, all grace is graceless. It wins out over worth, over discretion,
over prudence and even over majesty. It is a political road on which business
is rapidly completed. And finally, it is the art of withdrawing gallantly
from every embarrassing situation. The je ne sais quoi ... is the
soul of all qualities, the life of all perfection, the vigor of actions,
the bonne grâce of language and the charm of everything that
is in good taste. It agreeably amuses ideas and imagination, but it cannot
be explained. It is something that heightens the brilliance of everything
that is beautiful, it is a formal beauty. Other perfections ornament nature,
but the je ne sais quoi ornaments the ornaments themselves. Thus it
is the perfection of perfection itself, accompanied by a transcendent beauty
and a universal gracefulness. It consists of a certain worldly air, an
agrément that has no name but that is seen in speech, in behavior,
and in the way one reasons. Its most beautiful aspect comes from nature,
and the rest comes from reflection, for it has never been subjugated to any
imperious precept, but always to the best of every sort. It has been called
a "charm" because it steals hearts away; it has been called a "fine air"
because of the way it appears in action; "worldly air" because of its politeness;
"cheerfulness and good humor" because it is easy and compliant. All these
names come from the desire yet the impossibility of defining it. — Amelot
de la Houssaye's translation of maxim CXXVII of Gracian's L'Homme de
cour, 1702, p. 163
|
