écharpe

Forms

écharpe f (plural écharpes)^[1] Old French escharpe, usually escherpe in the Middle Ages, also escrepe and esquerpe.^[2][3][4]

Etymology

In the traditional view it is borrowed from Frankish *skirpja (“rush basket”) (also *skirpa), which was itself taken from Latin scirpus (“rush”).^[3][5][2][6] Compare Medieval Latin scrippa (“pilgrim's bag”) (754–755) and, already in classical Latin, scirpea (“basket”), derived from the noun for the rush.^[3][5] Bloch and Wartburg explain that the Frankish word first meant a bag woven of rushes, took part in the beginning of palatalization as *skjirpja, and became *skjirpa by dissimilation.^[2]

The Grand Robert and the Petit Robert call the origin uncertain or unknown.^[7][8] Pierre Guiraud compared the sense “purse” with escarcelle, and for the band of cloth (torn from a piece of fabric) proposed Vulgar Latin *excarpō (“to tear to pieces”), and the DHLF suggests that the two senses then crossed.^[5][7] Littré compares Spanish charpa and Italian sciarpa, and cites the Germanic etymology given by Diez.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

About 1135, in the Couronnement de Louis, escharpe is a pilgrim's scrip or bag, a sense the word shared with Medieval Latin.^[3][5] Joinville writes me donna m'escharpe et mon bourdon “gave me my scrip and my staff”.^[4]

Semantic evolution

Because the pilgrim's bag hung across the body, en escherpe meant “slung across the shoulder” (1283, Beaumanoir).^[3][5][2] From this way of carrying, the word passed to the band of cloth itself: in 1306 escherpe is a broad sash worn obliquely from one shoulder to the opposite hip.^[3][5][2] Its colour showed which army or party a knight belonged to, hence the old phrase changer d'écharpe “to change sides”, and it survives as the insignia of mayors and deputies.^[5][4]

In medicine it meant a sling for the forearm (1549, Estienne), hence en écharpe.^[3][5] By analogy of shape it named a rope used to hoist loads (1567).^[3][5] The sense now usual, a band of cloth worn round the neck or shoulders, dates from 1666 (Furetière).^[3][5] En écharpe came to mean “obliquely, from the side” in 1690, which led to a carpentry sense, a diagonal brace (1755).^[3][5]

Timeline

• c. 1135 – Escharpe “pilgrim's bag” in the Couronnement de Louis.^[3]
• 1283 – Beaumanoir uses en escherpe “slung across the shoulder”.^[3][5]
• 1306 – Guiart uses escherpe for a sash worn obliquely across the body.^[3]
• 1549 – Estienne records the sense “sling for the forearm”.^[3][5]
• 1567 – Used for a rope to hoist loads with a crane.^[3]
• 1666 – Furetière uses it for a band of cloth worn round the neck or shoulders.^[3][5]
• 1690 – Furetière records en écharpe “obliquely”.^[3][5]
• 1755 – The Encyclopédie has it as a carpentry term.^[3][9]

Meanings

Noun

1. A long band of fabric, woven or knitted, worn round the neck or over the shoulders; a scarf.^[10][3]
2. A broad sash worn across the chest from shoulder to opposite hip, or round the waist, as the insignia of an office: l'écharpe tricolore of French mayors and deputies.^[8][9]
3. A sling supporting an injured arm or hand: avoir le bras en écharpe.^[8][10]
4. En écharpe: obliquely, from the side: prendre en écharpe, of a vehicle hit side-on.^[8][5]
5. (building) A diagonal brace in a timber or iron frame, a panel or a floor.^[10]
6. (decorative arts) A drapery held at both ends and hanging in a curve.^[10]

Related words

• Latin scirpus

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s 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
4. ^ a b c d Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p 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. 17, 122a
7. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
10. ^ a b c d Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)