surprendre

Inherited from Middle French surprendre, from Old French sorprendre. By surface analysis, sur- +‎ prendre. In Old French sorprendre (“to overtake”) (formed from sor- (“over”); cf. modern French sur-) was distinguished from sousprendre (“to surprise, catch unaware (from beneath)”) (formed from sous- (“under”)); the two verbs later became one over time.

• IPA^(key): /syʁ.pʁɑ̃dʁ/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɑ̃dr

surprendre

1. to surprise

   Synonym: étonner

   Plus rien ne me surprend. ― Nothing surprises me anymore.

2. to catch out
3. to overhear, to discover, to spot (an action or secret someone is trying to hide)

This verb is conjugated on the model of prendre. That means it is quite irregular, with the following patterns:

• In the infinitive, in the singular forms of the present indicative, and in the future and the conditional, it is conjugated like rendre, perdre, etc. (sometimes called the regular -re verbs).
• In the plural forms of the present indicative and imperative, in the imperfect indicative, in the present subjunctive, and in the present participle, it is conjugated like appeler or jeter, using the stem surprenn- before mute 'e' and the stem surpren- elsewhere.
• In the past participle, and in the past historic and the imperfect subjunctive, its conjugation resembles that of mettre.

• surpris
• surprise

• → Asturian: sorprender
• → Spanish: sorprender
• → Portuguese: surpreender
• → Romanian: surprinde

• “surprendre”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

From Old French sorprendre, sousprendre.

surprendre

1. to surprise
2. to take (something) over; to seize
   • 1560, Jean Longis, Robert le Mangnier, Le Premier livre d'Amadis de Gaule, page CCXXVII:

     Ne voyez vous comme il a traité ceux du chasteau qu'il a surprins ?

     Don't you see how he treat those from the castle he seized?

• surprins (adjective)
• prendre

• English: surprise (from past participle)
• French: surprendre