Etymologically
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étoile

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /e.twal/[1]

Forms

étoile f (plural étoiles)[1] Old French esteile (about 1100), estoile (about 1175, Chrétien de Troyes); étoile from 1636 (Monet).[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French esteile, inherited from Vulgar Latin *stēla, for Latin stēlla (“star”).[4][3][5][6][1] Bloch and Wartburg explain the single ⟨l⟩ by a treatment of ⟨ll⟩ after a long vowel found only in Gallo-Romance and Rhaeto-Romance, as in Old Occitan estela; elsewhere the forms go back to the classical form: Italian stella, Spanish estrella.[5][3] Rey connects the Latin word with the Indo-European root seen in Ancient Greek ἀστήρ (astḗr) and Latin aster (see astre); the Petit Robert compares English star and German Stern.[3][7] It is a doublet of the first name Estelle.[1]

Cognate with Romanian stea, Occitan estela, Catalan estel and Portuguese estrela.[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the Chanson de Roland (about 1100) esteile is any heavenly body seen as a bright point at night, except the sun and moon: Clere est la lune, les esteiles flambient “the moon is bright, the stars blaze”.[4][8][3]

Semantic evolution

Philippe de Thaon (1119) calls the planets esteiles reials.[4] An inventory of Charles V (1380) uses it for an object with rays like those with which stars are drawn, whence en étoile “radiating”.[4][3] In astrology (1549, Du Bellay) it is a star that rules a person's fate: être né sous une bonne étoile (1690).[4][3] Compter les étoiles (1531) stood for a futile task, an image from the Bible.[3]

From 1849 it is a star of the stage, and later of the screen, and a leading dancer is a danseuse étoile.[4][9][2] A five-pointed star is the badge of a general's rank (gagner ses étoiles), and étoile de mer “starfish” dates from the mid-16th century.[2]

Timeline

  • c. 1100 – Esteile, Chanson de Roland.[4]
  • 1119 – Esteiles reials “planets”, Philippe de Thaon.[4]
  • 1380 – A star-shaped object.[4]
  • 1549 – In astrology, Du Bellay.[4]
  • 1636 – The spelling étoile, Monet.[2]
  • 1690 – Être né sous une bonne étoile.[3]
  • 1849 – A star of the theatre.[4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A star: un ciel plein d'étoiles, étoile filante, a shooting star, l'étoile du matin, du soir, dormir à la belle étoile, to sleep in the open.[7][1]
  2. (astronomy) A celestial body shining by its own light: étoile naine, étoile à neutrons.[7][1]
  3. A star as ruling one's fate: être né sous une bonne étoile, croire en son étoile.[3][7]
  4. A star-shaped figure or object; a star as a mark of rank or quality: un hôtel trois étoiles, étoile de David, étoile jaune.[7][1]
  5. A famous performer, a star of stage or screen, danseuse étoile, a principal dancer.[4][2]
  6. Étoile de mer: a starfish.[2][1]
  7. A white mark on the forehead of a horse or bull.[1][2]

Word family

  • étoilé
  • étoiler
  • stellaire
  • constellation
  • astre
  • Latin stēlla

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ 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
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ 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
  5. ^ a b 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. 12, 252a
  7. ^ a b c d e f Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  8. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  9. ^ Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF