Etymologically
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équipe

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /e.kip/[1]

Forms

équipe f (plural équipes)[1] Equippe (1456), équipe (1755).[2]

Etymology

It is a deverbal noun from équiper.[3][4][2][5][6] “Équiper” (Old French “eschiper”, “esquiper”) is from Old Norse skipa (“to arrange, fit out”), from skip (“ship”), according to Bloch and Wartburg and the TLFi; the FEW traces its earliest sense, “to put to sea”, to Old English scipian (“to sail”).[3][7][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

A letter of remission of 1456 has equippe for the crew of a boat; in 1469 it names a group of people playing the same game; both uses are isolated.[3][2]

Semantic evolution

The word was rare until the 19th century; the Petit Robert records it from 1688 for a small fleet of boats belonging to one boatman.[8][5] Zola uses it for the crew of a pleasure boat (1867), and Littré (1864) for a group of people working together at a task, the usual modern sense: équipe de nuit, chef d'équipe, travailler en équipe.[3][2] The sports team appears in Romain Rolland (1912) and in the newspaper L'Auto (1913).[3][9] From 1901 (Bruant) it also meant a group of people who go about together, a gang.[3]

Timeline

  • 1456 – Equippe, a boat's crew.[3]
  • 1469 – A group of players.[3]
  • 1864 – A group working together, Littré.[3]
  • 1867 – A boat's crew, Zola.[3]
  • 1901 – A gang of friends, Bruant.[3]
  • 1912 – A sports team, Romain Rolland.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A team, crew (of workers): travailler en équipe, chef d'équipe, équipe de nuit, faire équipe avec.[8][2]
  2. A team (in sport): l'équipe de France, sport d'équipe.[1][3]
  3. (familiar) A group of friends, bunch.[3]

Word family

  • équipier
  • coéquipier
  • équiper
  • équipage
  • équipement
  • équipée

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e 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 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. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 17, 116b
  7. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  8. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  9. ^ Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF