22/01/2021
Our names and given names are fundamental pillars of our identity. Despite their profound significance, they are relatively recent inventions that should not overshadow the fact that a name was initially a nickname. Jean Pruvost, our lexicologist, certainly lives up to his name, proving to be an inexhaustible source of knowledge on labels and the very concept of labelling.
The Fascinating History of First Names
Every first name possesses a captivating history, provided one takes the time to explore it. If the etymology of all names were common knowledge, it's easy to imagine how they might be chosen based on the prevailing concerns of a particular era. For instance, in our current age, deeply concerned with ecology, certain names would be most welcome. Consider names like Sylvie or Sylvain, which are directly derived from the Latin word 'silva,' meaning forest, or more poetically, the 'sylva.' Furthermore, by delving into history, one might feel a certain affinity for Saint Sylvie. She was, dare we say, 'bio' before it was fashionable! Sylvie was the mother of Saint Gregory the Great, a Pope of the 6th century. As the latter suffered from delicate health, his very kind mother would bring him fresh vegetables from her garden daily. This is why Sylvie is a name that evokes the scent of the forest, as well as the garden, embodying an early form of ecological consciousness.
Understanding the Nuances: First Name, Surname, and Nickname
To ensure a clear understanding of the distinctions between words like 'first name,' 'surname,' 'nickname,' 'family name,' and 'given name,' particularly as the interplay of nicknames can become complex and even insulting, I have chosen to use my own given and family names to avoid offending anyone. Let us begin with the first name 'Jean.' It originates from the Hebrew 'Yohânan,' meaning 'God is gracious,' a straightforward and unpretentious etymology. To enrich this name, which in ancient times would have been my sole appellation, my name in its entirety, or my baptismal name, another word that defines me is 'Pruvost.' Today, this is my family name or patronymic name (derived from the Greek 'onym,' meaning name, and 'patro,' meaning father, thus signifying 'father's name'). In days gone by, this would have merely been my nickname, my secondary name. Naturally, I did not choose 'Pruvost,' nor did my parents; however, it was initially a 'nickname' given to the first person to bear this name, which subsequently became hereditary.
The Etymology of 'Pruvost': From Roman Commander to Hereditary Surname
The word 'pruvost' in this context originates from the Latin 'praepositus,' referring to a Roman who commanded a military corps. 'Prae' means 'before,' and 'positus' means 'placed,' thus signifying 'placed before.' This 'praepositus' readily colonised Gaul. Later, under Charlemagne, the 'praepositus,' which through phonetic erosion eventually came to be pronounced 'prévost,' 'pruvoſt,' or 'provost,' was entrusted with the leadership of a domain. He also became a type of tax collector for the powerful, a role that held little enchantment. By the 12th century, a new turning point occurred in the history of personal names. At this time, while people engaged in professions like prevost, miller, or baker, they still possessed only one name: the baptismal name bestowed upon them in infancy, such as René, Charles, Dominique, Claude, or Jean. No one was yet referred to as 'Jean Meunier' or 'Jean Prévost' or 'Pruvost.' The concept of a family name did not yet exist. This posed no problem as long as there were only one or two individuals named Jean in a village. However, by the 13th century, with a considerable increase in population, there were no longer just one or two Jeans in a village, but six, eight, or ten. Consequently, how could one identify a specific Jean when speaking of him?
The Rise of Surnames: Distinguishing Individuals in a Growing Population
The necessity arose to use nicknames to differentiate individuals. Thus, we would distinguish 'Jean Du-pont' from 'Jean Du-bois,' 'Jean Le-roux' from 'Jean Le-brun,' or 'Jean Le-grand,' who might actually be very small, having been given this name derisively. And then there would be 'Jean Prévost' or 'Pruvost' if one were in the Pas-de-Calais region. This is where the deception lies. It's understandable that 'Jean Lepape' does not descend from a Pope, but rather from someone jokingly likened to a Pope. However, regarding 'prévost' or 'pruvoſt,' while it is certainly possible to descend from an actual prevost, there are far too many individuals with the name 'prévost' or 'pruvoſt' for it not to have also been a sobriquet applied to someone called 'prévost' because they were either authoritative, responsible for something (which is positive), or perhaps even, and this is less flattering, a fool nicknamed 'prévost' out of mockery. Thus, I might be a descendant of a complete imbecile. It was from the 13th century onwards that nicknames became hereditary and consequently evolved into what we now call family names.
The Evolution of the Term 'Surname'
We can now better understand the definition from a 1690 dictionary: "Name: also refers to a second name found within a family, continuing from father to son. It is also called a nickname." This explains why in English, 'surname' denotes the patronymic name. Today, of course, the nickname is added to the former nickname that has become a family name. For example: Jean (first name); Pruvost (family name); le dicopathe (nickname). The words 'name' and 'first name' themselves derive from Latin, where the Romans distinguished between the 'praenomen' (first name), the 'nomen' (name), and the 'cognomen' (nickname).
Perspectives on Bearing a Name
To conclude, let us consider three viewpoints. The first, from Corneille in 1650: "Let whoever wishes adorn themselves with the names of their ancestors; I wish only to carry myself everywhere." To bear a name is indeed beautiful, but it goes without saying that we also exist as individuals, independent of our ancestors' names. Closer to our time, in 2006, we have the second perspective from Muriel Barbery in 'The Elegance of the Hedgehog.' Renée, the heroine, is deeply moved in her childhood when "for the first time, someone addressed me by saying my first name," she declares. This is how beautiful love stories begin. And within this context, a third testimony comes from Victor Hugo, recalling his first love in his Correspondence: "The names and first names of my beloved fiancée are Adèle Julie Foucher, minor daughter of Pierre Foucher, and Anne Victoire Asseline." All of this is written with solemnity and great emotion, much like these first names are carved into trees.
The Intriguing Journey of the Word 'Protocole'
The word 'protocole,' originating from the Latin 'protocollum,' rhyming with 'colle' (glue), will not surprise the etymologist who recalls the semantic link between the two words. It is worth noting that in the Middle Ages, 'protocole' was spelled with two 'l's. Glue indeed constitutes one of the fundamental elements of this learned word. In this regard, we can illustrate this by pointing out that in Justinian's Code of the 6th century, 'protocol(l)e' precisely designated each leaf glued at the head of various charters to authenticate them.
From Glued Leaves to Diplomatic Etiquette
The word 'protocole' literally means that which is glued in front, from the Greek 'kolla' (glue) and 'prôto' (first). In reality, the step from label to content was a small one. In the Middle Ages, 'protocole' first assimilated to the 'minute' of a contract, meaning the original legal document. It was called a 'minute' because the aforementioned contract was written in very small, fine script, 'minute' originating from the Latin 'minus,' meaning less, smaller. 'Protocole' then came to signify the register itself containing these minutes. Finally, at the beginning of the Grand Siècle (the 17th century), 'protocole' evolved to mean the collection of formulas used to regulate correspondence between individuals of distinct ranks. This led to the mention of 'protocoles de sergents' (sergeants' protocols) and 'protocoles de notaires' (notaries' protocols) in our earliest monolingual dictionaries at the end of Louis XIV's reign.
In 1655, Borel, in his 'Trésor des recherches et antiquités gauloises et françoises,' amusingly noted that 'protocole' represented "the mark on the edge of the paper; for which reason Notaries were forbidden from trimming their Registers so that falsehoods could be discovered; which would not be possible if the mark were removed." It was not until the first half of the 19th century that 'protocole' also became synonymous with a register intended to record the resolutions of an assembly or, more specifically, an international conference. From this emerged the established notion of 'international protocol,' the most well-known of which remains the Geneva Protocol. We can refer to the first Geneva Convention of 1864, aimed at protecting wounded soldiers, or the 1929 convention concerning the treatment of prisoners of war. Concurrently, another sense of the word developed, linked to the same respect for rules. 'Protocole' then aimed to codify official and diplomatic relations, thereby 'sticking' to what is also called 'etiquette.' The latter refers to the custom of using labels to designate the order of precedence.
Modern Interpretations and Medical Protocols
It was from Great Britain, which also borrowed the word 'protocole,' that two new meanings subsequently emerged through extension. On one hand, around 1920, it referred to the list of typographical conventions implemented in the production of a printed text. On the other hand, 'protocole' could designate the report of a psychological test administration. It is in this dual sense that the 'protocole opératoire' (surgical protocol) also came into being around 1950, referring to the written report of an operation and, consequently, the exhaustive sequence of actions a surgeon must perform in a given operation. This new meaning of the word 'protocole' rapidly extended to any complex therapy. Thus, as its usage spread from the 1970s onwards, this new meaning was added to the 1997 edition of the Petit Larousse illustré, within the article dedicated to 'protocole': "Med. Set of rules to be followed and actions to be performed during certain treatments and therapeutic trials."
This definition was significantly modified in the following edition, with treatments benefiting from a parenthetical addition, "treatments (anticancer, for example)," a parenthetical remark that reveals the institutionalised use of the word in the fight against cancer. Much like an aircraft's flight plan, a medical protocol offers a sense of reassurance, especially since it can be modified en route. It also serves as a link between all parties involved with the patient, as it is distributed to all medical and paramedical staff in the department, the facility director, the director of nursing services, the hospital pharmacist, and any new personnel. It is always accessible, or even displayed, "glued in the very first place," as the etymologist would say, if the department's organisation permits.
The 'Protocol' as a Human Aide
The 'protocolle,' which Furetière still spelled with two 'l's in his 1690 'Dictionnaire universel,' also once benefited from another meaning: it was "formerly said of the person now called a prompter, who stands behind the public speaker to suggest what they should say in case their memory fails them." And this type of flesh-and-blood protocol, operating with an infallible memory, was in truth directly derived from those individuals whom the Romans called 'Protocolles.' These were, as Furetière specifies, "certain Nomenclators" – by definition capable of establishing a complete and reliable nomenclature of names – "who knew all the names of the citizens and suggested them to their Masters, so that they could greet everyone by their name when approaching them." It is undoubtedly a very useful protocol that ensures nothing is ever forgotten and allows for precise connections to be made. This also brings us to Philippe Bouvard and his 'Petit Bouvard illustré,' published in 1985, in which he defined the word 'protocole' as: "Vade Mecum of egos"!
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