"Quadragénaire: This word to say who is forty years old cannot
be said.
“
Beyond the spelling chosen by Richelet
in 1680, this is a remark that surprises and prompts us to consult
other dictionaries.
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For example, Furetière's Dictionary published ten years later: “
Quadragénaire: qui contain quarente.
The quadragenarian number is mysterious according to St Augustine in a Treatise on St John.
”Very well, we have in mind among others the forty days of rain of the Flood, the forty years of the stay of the Hebrew people in the desert, but also the forty days spent by Moses on Mount Sinai.
So doesn't Furetière make any reference to the forty-year-old?
Read alsoAperitif, a word that has completely changed meaning
What is the origin of the word quadragenarian?
Alas, yes, but this is no longer relevant today and hardly elegant: “
A woman in her forties is hardly in a state to beget.
"Borrowed from the Latin quadragenarius, meaning in Latin"
which contains forty units or which is forty years old
", the word quadragenarian made its appearance
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