éplucher

Forms

éplucher^[1] Old French espeluchier, Picard esplukier (late 13th century) and Middle French esplucher (1508).^[2][3]

Etymology

It is formed from Old French es- + peluchier (“to clean”), the prefix having an intensive value.^[2][3][4] The Old French verb is from Vulgar Latin *piluccō, a reduction of *pilūcicō, itself from *pilūcō, derived from Late Latin pilō (“to remove hair”), from Latin pilus (“hair”).^[3][5][4][2] Wiktionary sets up a prefixed *expilūcicō.^[1]

Cognate with Italian piluccare, Catalan pellucar (influenced by pell (“skin”)) and Old Occitan pelugar.^[5][3] Bloch and Wartburg hold that German pflücken and English pluck (“to pick”) are of Romance origin;^[5] Littré reports that Diez rejected a Germanic source for the Romance verb and was inclined to the same view.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

In Marie de France's Fables (about 1180) a mouse de ses piez s'espelucha, cleaned itself with its feet, the reflexive sense “to rid oneself of vermin and dirt” said of animals.^[6][4][7] The TLFi reads the simple peluchier in that text and dates espeluchier “to clean by removing the useless parts” to Hélinant's Vers de la Mort (1194–1197), where it is figurative.^[2]

Semantic evolution

In the 16th century the verb had the technical sense “to remove burrs and straws from cloth” (1508, as esplucher), and Estienne records it transitively for cleaning food in 1549.^[2][3][4] The figurative sense “to examine closely with a critical aim” is found at the end of the 13th century (esplukier), and again in the modern form before 1613 in Régnier.^[2][3][4]

Its derivatives include éplucheur (1555, at first figurative), épluchure (1611 as espluchure, 1680), épluchoir (1680) and épluchage (1755).^[3][5] In Canada an épluchette (1856) is a party at which ears of maize are husked.^[3]

Timeline

• c. 1180 – S'espelucha in Marie de France's Fables.^[4][6]
• 1194–1197 – Espeluchier in Hélinant's Vers de la Mort.^[2]
• late 13th century – Esplukier “to examine closely”.^[2][3]
• 1508 – Esplucher of cleaning cloth in the accounts of the château de Gaillon.^[2]
• 1549 – Estienne records the transitive sense “to clean”.^[4]
• 1555 – Éplucheur appears.^[5][3]
• 1611 – Espluchure is recorded.^[3]
• 1856 – Épluchette in Canada.^[3]

Meanings

Verb

1. To clean food by removing the useless or bad parts, especially to peel fruit and vegetables (peler).^[8][2][6]
2. To clean poultry, game or fish of the parts that cannot be eaten.^[2][6]
3. (textiles) To remove the burrs and straws from cloth, silk or wool.^[8][6]
4. (figurative) To scrutinize something minutely in search of faults.^[8][1]
5. (reflexive) Of an animal: to clean itself, to preen.^[1]

Word family

• éplucheur
• épluchure
• épluchoir
• épluchage
• épluchement
• épluchette

Related words

• peler
• peluche
• poil
• Latin pilus

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 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 g h i j k l Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d e f g Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
5. ^ a b c d e Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
6. ^ a b c d e f Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
7. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert