The
Ranums'
Panat Times
Volume 1, redone Dec. 2014
Glossary, part 3 (G-J)
Glossary A-C
Glossary D-F
Glossary G-J
Glossary L-M
Glossary N-P
Glossary R-V
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
— 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
[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