ébène

Forms

ébène f (plural ébènes)^[1] Old French ebenus (about 1160), ebaine (13th century) and benus; the form ébène appears in the 16th century, at first masculine.^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin ebenus (“ebony tree, ebony wood”),^[2][3][5][6] which is from Ancient Greek ἔβενος (ébenos),^[1][2] itself borrowed from Egyptian hbnj,^[2][3] a word that may be of Nubian origin.^[2][3] The Latin form was first taken over as it stood, ebenus, then adapted as ebaine after 1250; the form ébène dates from 1542.^[2][3][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

It first appears as ebenus in the Roman d’Eneas (about 1160), for the wood of the ebony tree.^[2]

Semantic evolution

As in Latin, the word first named the black, very hard wood of the ebony tree, then, by extension, the wood of other exotic trees with similar qualities (ébène verte, fausse ébène).^[3] Its colour made it a byword for deep black: en hebeine “black” is found in 1559, and cheveux d’ébène “jet-black hair” in Chénier (1794).^[3][2]

In the language of the slave traders, bois d’ébène was the name given to enslaved Black Africans, treated as merchandise; it is recorded in 1833 (Mérimée) but is older, from the 18th century.^[3][2][8] From ébène came ébéniste (1676), first a worker in ebony and then in other fine woods, and ébénier, the name of the tree (1690).^[3]

Timeline

• c. 1160 – Ebenus in the Roman d’Eneas.^[2]
• Second half of the 13th century – Lit d’ebaine in a manuscript of Alexandre de Paris.^[2]
• 1542 – Masculine ébène noir in Rabelais.^[2][3]
• 1676 – The derivative ébéniste appears.^[3]
• 1794 – Chénier writes ses cheveux d’ébène.^[2][9]
• 1833 – Bois d’ébène, the slave traders' name for enslaved Black people, in Mérimée.^[2][8]

Meanings

Noun

1. Ebony, the hard black wood of the ébénier, used in inlay and cabinetwork.^[8][4]
2. By extension, the dense dark wood of other exotic trees.^[8][3]
3. D’ébène, noir d’ébène: deep, glossy black: des cheveux d’ébène.^[8][10][4]
4. (historical, pejorative) Bois d’ébène: the name the slave traders gave to enslaved Black Africans.^[8][10]

Adjective

1. Ebony-coloured, jet black.^[1][9]

Word family

• ébénier
• ébéniste
• ébénisterie

Related words

• Latin ebenus

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
5. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 3, 199a
7. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ a b c d e f Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ a b Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
10. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse