écureuil

Forms

écureuil m (plural écureuils, feminine écureuille)^[1] Old French escuriuel, escuriax (plural), escural, escurel, escuiroil, escureul, escuireul and escuriel.^[2][3] Middle French escurieu, whence écurieu, long kept in dictionaries.^[4] Regional French écureux (Canada) and esquirol (south-west).^[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle French escureul, inherited from Old French escurel, inherited from Vulgar Latin *scūriolus, a diminutive of Latin sciūrus (“squirrel”), altered by dissimilation.^[3][2][5][1] The Latin word was borrowed from Ancient Greek σκίουρος (skíouros), a compound of σκιά (skiá, “shadow”) and οὐρά (ourá, “tail”), the animal that makes shade with its tail.^[3][2][6]

The word went through many forms before it settled.^[2] The TLFi explains the ending ⟨-euil⟩ by analogy from the plural, since ⟨-eus⟩ was the plural of nouns in both ⟨-eul⟩ and ⟨-euil⟩ (compare deuil); Bloch and Wartburg speak of a change of suffix.^[3][4]

The word is common in Gallo-Romance with various suffixes: Old Occitan escuriol, esquirol and escurol.^[4] Compare also Italian scoiattolo, Spanish esquilo and Portuguese esquilo.^[4][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded in the plural escuriax in Chrétien de Troyes's Chevalier au lion (1176–1181), meaning the squirrel.^[3][2] In the Roman de Renart (first half of the 13th century) the animal appears as l'escurel au pelicon rox, the squirrel in its red fur.^[3][6]

Semantic evolution

Old French texts also use the word for squirrel fur, listed with vair and rabbit skins.^[6] Much later the name passed to several fish (1791) and a moth (1838).^[2][3] The flying squirrel, écureuil volant, is first found as escureux volant in Canada in 1632.^[2]

Comparisons with people give vif comme un écureuil, agile comme un écureuil (1835).^[2] From the squirrel in its wheel cage it named a worker, and then a convict, who turned a wheel driving a machine (1878), and in sport a cyclist circling a track (1897).^[2] Because the animal stores seeds for the winter it stands for thrift, and in France it is the emblem of the Caisse d'épargne savings bank.^[2]

English squirrel, recorded in the early 14th century, came from Anglo-Norman esquirel and the Old French word.^[7]

Timeline

• 1176–1181 – Chrétien de Troyes's Chevalier au lion has the plural escuriax.^[3][2]
• First half of the 13th century – The Roman de Renart has escurel.^[3]
• Before 1250 – The form escural is recorded.^[5][2]
• c. 1358 – The form escuiroil appears.^[3][2]
• 1632 – Escureux volant “flying squirrel” is recorded in Canada.^[2]
• 1791 – It is applied to several fish.^[2]
• 1835 – Agile comme un écureuil is recorded.^[2]
• 1838 – The Académie's supplement gives it as a common name for fish and for a moth.^[3]
• 1878 – It names a worker who turns a driving wheel.^[2]
• 1897 – It is used in sport for a cyclist circling the track.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A squirrel, a small tree-dwelling rodent with a long bushy tail, usually red-brown: l'écureuil roux.^[8][3][1]
2. Écureuil volant: a flying squirrel, with folds of skin between its legs that let it glide.^[8][3][2]
3. (figurative) In vif comme un écureuil, agile comme un écureuil, very lively or nimble.^[8][2]
4. A common name of several fish and of a moth.^[3][6]
5. (cycling) A rider who circles the track.^[2]

Related words

• Latin sciūrus
• English squirrel

Usage notes

As a symbol of saving, the squirrel is the emblem of the French Caisse d'épargne.^[2]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ 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
4. ^ a b c d Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
5. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ a b c d e Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
7. ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
8. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert