étayer

Forms

étayer^[1] Old French estaier; the spelling étayer dates from 1690 (Furetière).^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is formed from French étai² (“prop, shore”) + -er.^[2][5][1][6] The noun, Old French estai or estaie, comes from Frankish *staka (“support”), reconstructed from Middle Dutch stake (“pole”) and Middle High German stak.^[4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in 1213, as estaier, in the Faits des Romains, meaning to hold up a wall with props.^[2][4]

Semantic evolution

Besides propping up with shores, the verb came to mean to serve as a prop for something (about 1265, Jean de Meun: Salomon son temple en estaie / Sur sept pilliers).^[3][7] The figurative sense, to support an argument or a theory, dates from 1580 (Montaigne).^[3][4]

Timeline

• 1213 – Estaier appears in the Faits des Romains.^[2][5]
• c. 1265 – Jean de Meun uses it for holding up as a prop.^[3][7]
• 1459 – The noun estaiement is recorded.^[2][5]
• 1580 – Montaigne uses it figuratively.^[3][4]
• 1690 – Furetière spells it étayer.^[3][8]

Meanings

Verb

1. To prop up or shore with props: étayer une galerie.^[9][2]
2. (figurative) To support, back up (an argument, a theory): étayer une thèse de preuves.^[9][3]
3. (reflexive) S'étayer: to lean or rest on something, to support each other.^[9][7]

Word family

• étaiement
• étayage

Related words

• étai²

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f 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 Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
4. ^ a b c d e 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. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 17, 195a
7. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert