souligne

Souligne is the third-person singular present indicative form of the French verb souligner, meaning to underline or to emphasize. The infinitive is souligner, and the related noun soulignement refers to the act of underlining. In use, souligne can denote drawing a line under text or, more figuratively, highlighting a point or idea.

Etymology and form

Souligne derives from the combination of sous/ sous- meaning under and ligne meaning line, a formation that evolved in Old French to indicate placing a line beneath something. The base verb souligner encompasses both literal underlining and figurative emphasis in various contexts.

Usage

In writing and editing, souligner denotes marking important words or phrases by underlining them. In rhetoric or critique, it can indicate stressing a particular argument or detail. The sense is distinct from surligner, which refers to highlighting with a marker or color. In typography and word processing, the function is often implemented as a formatting option to emphasize text, and it can also appear in discussions of style and readability.

Conjugation and forms

Present tense (indicative): je souligne, tu soulignes, il/elle souligne, nous soulignons, vous soulignez, ils soulignent. Other forms include souligné (past participle) and soulfulignant (present participle: en soulignant). The verb accepts standard French conjugation patterns across tenses and moods.

See also

- surligner

- mettre en évidence

- underline (English translation)