Etymology Online suggests that the use of impertinent to mean "rudely bold" is connected to similar use in French, and happened around 1680. It also offers the tantalizing tidbit
especially by Molière, from notion of meddling with what is beyond one's proper sphere.
Now the first thing I think of when I see "Molière" is intermediate French class and the play Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme. Jean-Batiste Poquelin aka Molière was a French playwright whose satiric plays centered around characters who were taken out of their 'natural' element. In Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme, for instance, is the story of a middle class man who aspires to the aristocracy. He is like a fish out of water as he tries to learn to be a gentleman, and much hilarity ensues.
If we look closely at the etymology of the word, it is not too much of a stretch to equate "not pertaining to something" with "not a part of something." The association with Molière's works certainly could have helped impertinence take on this slightly altered meaning.
So it would seem that the "intrusive or presumptuous" meaning of impertinence is fashionably French.
Answer from Kit Z. Fox on Stack ExchangeEtymology Online suggests that the use of impertinent to mean "rudely bold" is connected to similar use in French, and happened around 1680. It also offers the tantalizing tidbit
especially by Molière, from notion of meddling with what is beyond one's proper sphere.
Now the first thing I think of when I see "Molière" is intermediate French class and the play Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme. Jean-Batiste Poquelin aka Molière was a French playwright whose satiric plays centered around characters who were taken out of their 'natural' element. In Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme, for instance, is the story of a middle class man who aspires to the aristocracy. He is like a fish out of water as he tries to learn to be a gentleman, and much hilarity ensues.
If we look closely at the etymology of the word, it is not too much of a stretch to equate "not pertaining to something" with "not a part of something." The association with Molière's works certainly could have helped impertinence take on this slightly altered meaning.
So it would seem that the "intrusive or presumptuous" meaning of impertinence is fashionably French.
The meaning of impertinent are two:
- not showing proper respect; rude
- (formal) not pertinent to a particular matter; irrelevant
Hers was an impertinent question.
Talk of rhetoric and strategy is impertinent to this process.
At least in the second case, impertinent is an antonym of pertinent.
The original meaning of the word is the second one; the meaning then slowly changed to the first one.
The Wiktionary has a note about the usage of impertinent:
As many older speakers will consider definition 2 incorrect, avoiding the word altogether may be advisable. The construction "not pertinent" is one possible alternative.
Impertinent means disrespectful, irrelevant but I don’t see respect meaning for pertinent any reason
I’m rewatching The Wire and in the first season while listening to the tapped pay phones it’s being pointed out that you can listen for 90 seconds and if nothing of note is mentioned you have to stop.
This made me wonder, what if as a criminal organisation you knew this and you would make it a rule that with every call the first like 120 seconds (2 min) you would always just chit chat about some bull before getting to talk details.
Would this work and make it so that every call would be non-pertinent? Or am I reaching and this won’t fly?