échalote

Forms

échalote f (plural échalotes)^[1] Old French eschaloines (late 11th century), escaluigne (about 1140), escalone and eschalogne (13th century); Middle French eschalote (about 1500) and eschalotte (1514).^[2][3][4][5] In the 19th century it was written with one or two ⟨t⟩; one is now usual.^[5]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle French eschalote, inherited from Old French eschaloigne, with the ending replaced by the suffix -ote.^[2][5][4][1] The Old French word comes from Latin ascalōnia (“onion of Ascalon”), short for ascalōnia cēpa, named after the town of Ascalon (Ashkelon) in Palestine.^[2][5][4][6] Medieval Latin scalongia (late 13th century) was modelled on the French form.^[2][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Old French form first appears as eschaloines in Rashi's glosses (late 11th century, in a 14th-century manuscript), and as escaluigne about 1140 in the Pèlerinage de Charlemagne.^[2] Eschalote is first found about 1500 in Joret's Jardin de santé, naming the shallot.^[2]

Semantic evolution

Besides the plant and its bulb, used in cooking, the word, with the figurative value that oignon also has, gave the familiar phrase course à l'échalote, a struggle for first place or for power, first a way of making someone run by pushing him by the seat of his trousers and the collar.^[5][7][8]

In Quebec it names a young green onion (1862), and by comparison it evokes thinness: maigre comme une échalote.^[7][5][8] English shallot (1660s) is shortened from eschalot, taken from French.^[9]

Timeline

• Late 11th century – Eschaloines in Rashi's glosses.^[2]
• c. 1140 – Escaluigne in the Pèlerinage de Charlemagne.^[2][4]
• 13th century – Escalone and eschalogne; the Livre des métiers lists eschaloingnes among the vegetables sold in Paris.^[3][10]
• c. 1500 – Eschalote in Joret's Jardin de santé.^[2][5]
• 1514 – Houssemaine writes eschalotte.^[4]
• 1552 – The derivative échaloté in Rabelais.^[5]
• 1660s – English shallot is recorded.^[9]
• 1862 – The Quebec sense “green onion”.^[7]

Meanings

Noun

1. The shallot, a plant of the onion family, and its bulb, used as a condiment: une sauce à l'échalote.^[7][8]
2. (Quebec) A young green onion, a scallion.^[7][8]
3. (Quebec, familiar) A tall, thin person;^[8][7] maigre comme une échalote: very thin.^[8][7]
4. Course à l'échalote (familiar): a race for first place or for power.^[7][8][5]

Related words

• Latin ascalōnia
• English shallot

Usage notes

It is spelled with one ⟨t⟩, unlike carotte.^[8]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d e Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 25, 408b
7. ^ a b c d e f g h Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ a b c d e f g h Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
9. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
10. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette