aprochier

Aprochier is a historical French verb meaning to bring near or to approach. It is attested in a small number of older texts and is generally considered archaic or regional. In modern French, the standard verbs for this sense are approcher (to approach/come near) and rapprocher (to bring closer, to reunite); aprochier survives only as a historical or dialectal form and is rarely used by contemporary speakers.

Etymology and relation to other forms: The form is usually linked to the same semantic family as approcher and rapprocher, with possible influences from Old French aprochier. The precise development is not widely documented, and etymological notes typically mention a connection to the root proche or procheur, meaning near. The record of aprochier is sparse, and its spellings vary by manuscript.

Usage: When found, aprochier appears in contexts that describe physical proximity or motion toward a subject. Because it is old-fashioned, it occurs mainly in liturgical, legal, or literary texts from the medieval or early modern period, and it is largely absent from modern standard French.

Modern status: In contemporary French, aprochier is not taught in standard grammar and is considered obsolete. Some dialect dictionaries may acknowledge variants or remnants in regional speech.

Examples (illustrative, not exhaustive): Aprochier is used where a writer intends “to approach” in a historical text; modern equivalents would be approcher or rapprocher.

See also: approcher, rapprocher, aprocher, Old French verbs.