À propos de la matere esmeue dans les Problèmes d’Évrart de Conty: étude distributionnelle et variationnelle des verbes mouvoir et esmouvoir en moyen français

Abstract

In this study, we describe the semantico-syntactic behaviour of the verbs esmouvoir and mouvoir within the Problemes, a Middle French translation of the Latin pseudo-Aristotelian Problemata. These verbs have witnessed a great deal of semantic change from Latin through Middle French to the present day. Firstly, using semasiological techniques, we define the verb esmouvoir. This permits us to juxtapose the uses of esmouvoir with those of its etymon as it is found in the corresponding paragraphs of the Latin source text. We found it necessary to consider collocations and syntactic evidence in order to properly capture the semantic variation of the lexeme. It is here that the verb mouvoir is introduced to provide a tertium. comparationis for the analysis. It is through such comparisons that we reveal the divergence between the distribution of esmouvoir in Middle French and its etymon. This procedure of studying the combinatory profiles and the argument structure clearly demonstrates that the semantic distance between the verbs has increased over time.