épée

Forms

épée f (plural épées)^[1] Old French spede (late 9th century), espade (about 980), espede (about 1050) and espee (1080, Chanson de Roland); the spelling épée is recorded from 1636.^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French espee, inherited from Latin spatha (“batten, spatula, long sword”),^[5][6][1] which is from Ancient Greek σπάθη (spáthē), a word of the same meanings still used in Modern Greek.^[3][7] The Latin word had many technical senses, among them a weaver's batten and a broad, flat wooden spatula for mixing medicines, all going back to the idea of a broad flat piece of wood; the sense “sword” arose by comparison.^[7][3] Rey notes that the Greek word has been compared with Germanic names of the spade such as Old Saxon spado and German Spaten.^[3] Littré reports an older view that the Latin word in the sense “sword” was Celtic, since Diodorus calls the long sword of the Gauls by this name.^[8]

The Latin diminutive spathula gave épaule and was borrowed as spatule;^[7][9] spathe is a learned borrowing of the Latin word, and espadon, spadassin and espalier come from Italian words of the same origin.^[1][9] Cognate with Italian spada, Romanian spadă, Catalan espasa, Occitan espada, Spanish espada and Portuguese espada.^[9][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

The oldest record is the form spede in the Sequence of Saint Eulalia (about 880), where the king orders the saint's head to be cut off with a sword: Ad une spede li roveret tolir lo chief.^[5][8]

Semantic evolution

The word has always named the sword with a two-edged blade, a hilt and a guard.^[3] As the weapon of war and the badge of the military estate and of the nobility, it came to mean courage (1611) and the profession of arms (late 16th century), and it entered many phrases, most now archaic: mettre à l'épée “to massacre” (about 1220), au feu et à l'épée (1552).^[3] By metonymy it named a good swordsman (une fine épée, 1565), whence brave comme une épée (1611);^[3] Oudin (1640) records it for a man of arms.^[3]

Three phrases are still in common use: mettre l'épée dans les reins “to harass” (1690), un coup d'épée dans l'eau “a useless act” (1718) and épée de Damoclès “an ever-present threat”, a fixed phrase only from the early 19th century.^[3] By likeness the word named long pointed tools, such as the saddler's épée (1803).^[3] In recent slang une épée is an exceptionally able person (1955).^[3]

Timeline

• c. 880 – Spede in the Sequence of Saint Eulalia.^[5][2]
• c. 980 – Espade in the Passion.^[2]
• 1080 – Espee in the Chanson de Roland.^[2][3]
• c. 1220 – Mettre à l'épée “to massacre” is recorded.^[3]
• 1565 – Une bonne épée “a good swordsman”.^[3]
• 1636 – Monet spells it épée.^[2][4]
• 1690 – Mettre l'épée dans les reins “to harass”.^[3]
• 1718 – The Académie records un beau coup d'épée “a blunder”.^[10]
• 1718 – Un coup d'épée dans l'eau “a useless act” is recorded.^[3]
• 1955 – Slang uses it for an exceptionally able person.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. A sword, a weapon with a straight steel blade set in a hilt with a guard.^[9][5]
2. (fencing) The épée, a fencing weapon without a cutting edge, with a button on its point.^[9]
3. A swordsman: une fine épée.^[3][2]
4. (figurative) The military profession, armed force.^[3]
5. Un coup d'épée dans l'eau: a useless effort, épée de Damoclès: a constant threat.^[3][1]
6. (heraldry) A sword shown as a charge on a coat of arms.^[1]

Word family

• épéiste
• porte-épée

Related words

• épaule
• spatule
• spathe
• espadon
• spadassin
• Latin spatha

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b c d 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
6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 12, 140a
7. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
8. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
9. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
10. ^ Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF