étreindre

Forms

étreindre^[1] Old French estreindre; the spelling étreindre dates from the 17th century.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French estreindre, inherited from Latin stringō (“to draw tight, bind, squeeze”).^{[4][5][3][6][1]} The past participle strictus is behind étroit and strict, and the Latin verb belongs to the same family as strigilis (“scraper”).^[3][7] Wiktionary traces it to Proto-Indo-European *streyg-; the Petit Robert attaches it to an Indo-European root meaning “tight”.^[1][7]

Cognate with Romanian strânge, Italian stringere, Occitan estrenher, Catalan estrènyer and Spanish estreñir.^[7][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded about 1135 in the Couronnement de Louis, as estreindre “to tie someone up”.^[4][3] Wace has the reflexive in the sense “to gird oneself” (1160–1174).^[4]

Semantic evolution

Already about 1165 Benoît de Sainte-Maure used it figuratively, li estreint li cuers “his heart is gripped”, but this sense of oppressing or constraining returns only about 1860, perhaps under the influence of the figurative étreinte.^[4][3] The Petit Robert has “to torment with pain” from the late 15th century.^[7]

The usual modern sense, to clasp someone tightly in one's arms, is found about 1170 in Marie de France.^[4][3] Compared with embrasser it is wider (a hand can grip a wrist) and more violent.^[3] The proverb is old: the Ménagier de Paris (14th century) has Qui trop embrasse pou estraint, now qui trop embrasse mal étreint.^[8][1]

Timeline

• c. 1135 – The Couronnement de Louis has estreindre “to tie up”.^[4]
• 1160–1174 – Wace uses the reflexive for “to gird oneself”.^[4]
• c. 1165 – Benoît de Sainte-Maure uses it of the heart, figuratively.^[4][3]
• c. 1170 – Marie de France uses it for clasping someone in one's arms.^[4][3]
• c. 1210 – The derivative étreinte appears.^[6]
• 14th century – The Ménagier de Paris records the proverb Qui trop embrasse pou estraint.^[8]
• c. 1860 – The sense “to oppress” (of feelings) returns.^[3][7]

Meanings

Verb

1. To clasp tightly, to hug or embrace: elle étreignit son fils sur le quai de la gare.^[7][9][1]
2. To grip or clutch something firmly: il étreignait la rampe de ses deux mains.^[9][1][7]
3. (figurative) Of a feeling, to oppress or wring: l'angoisse lui étreignait le cœur.^[7][3]

Word family

• étreinte

Related words

• étroit
• strict
• astreindre
• contraindre
• restreindre
• Latin stringō

Usage notes

The proverb qui trop embrasse mal étreint means that whoever tries to do too much does nothing well.^[1][7]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 12, 304b
6. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
9. ^ a b Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)