épingle

Forms

épingle f (plural épingles)^[1] Old French espingle; the spelling épingle is recorded from 1636.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *spingula, a cross between Latin spīnula (“little thorn”) and Late Latin spīcula (“prickle”).^[2][4][5][1] The first is a diminutive of spīna (“thorn”) (see épine), which already meant “thorn used to fasten” in Tacitus;^[2][5][4] the second is a diminutive of spīca (“point, ear of grain”) (see épi).^[2][4] The cluster /ŋɡl/ is what calls for the crossed form.^[5] Scheler instead traced the word to German Spange (“clasp”), not accepting an inserted ⟨g⟩, according to Littré.^[6]

Cognate with Old Occitan espinla, Italian spilla, Italian spillo and Neapolitan spingula.^[5][1] Littré takes Old French espille from spīculum alone.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

About 1260 Robert de Blois writes l'espingle et la boucle d'or in Beaudous, where the word perhaps means the tongue of a belt buckle.^[2][4] The ordinances of the Paris trades, from 1270–1300, use it in the modern sense of a pin with a head.^[2][4]

Semantic evolution

From the pin, the word spread to other things used to fasten: a jewel in the 16th century, whence monter en épingle “to make much of” (20th century), and the hairpin (1833), which gave virage en épingle à cheveux “hairpin bend” (1906).^[2][4] Épingle à linge (1864) is more used in Belgium and Quebec than pince à linge.^[4]

Tirer son épingle du jeu (end of the 16th century, d'Aubigné), “to get out of a bad business in time”, probably comes from a game in which pins had to be pulled out.^[4][3] Être tiré à quatre épingles (1690) praised careful dress in the 17th and 18th centuries but has since become pejorative, and coup d'épingle “petty slight” (1797) is dated.^[4]

Timeline

• c. 1260 – Espingle in Robert de Blois, perhaps for a buckle tongue.^[2]
• 1270–1300 – The Paris trade ordinances use it for a pin.^[2]
• 16th century – It names a jewelled pin.^[2][3]
• late 16th century – Tirer son épingle du jeu in d'Aubigné.^[3][4]
• 1636 – Monet spells it épingle.^[3]
• 1690 – Furetière records tiré à quatre épingles.^[3][4]
• 1833 – Épingle à cheveux “hairpin”.^[2][4]
• 1906 – Virage en épingle à cheveux “hairpin bend”.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. A pin, a small pointed metal rod with a head, used to fasten things.^[7][8][1]
2. Être tiré à quatre épingles: to be dressed with meticulous care.^[7][4]
3. Tirer son épingle du jeu: to get out of a difficult situation in time.^[7][4]
4. An ornamental pin or brooch: épingle de cravate.^[7][8]
5. Monter en épingle: to highlight, make a great deal of something.^[7][4]
6. Épingle à cheveux: a hairpin, also virage en épingle à cheveux, a hairpin bend.^[7][4]
7. Épingle de sûreté, épingle de nourrice: a safety pin.^[7][2]
8. Épingle à linge: a clothes peg.^[7][4]

Word family

• épingler
• épinglette
• épinglier
• épinglé

Related words

• épine
• épi
• Latin spīnula

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l 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 Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b c d Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
6. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
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 Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)