étroit

Pronunciation

• IPA: /e.tʁwa/^[1]

Forms

étroit (feminine étroite, masculine plural étroits, feminine plural étroites)^[1] Old French estreiz (1080), estreit (about 1155), then estroit (about 1175, Chrétien de Troyes); étroit from 1636 (Monet).^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French estreit, inherited from Latin strictus (“drawn tight, narrow; concise; strict”), the past participle of stringō (“to draw tight”).^[5][2][6] The form with ⟨oi⟩ replaced the earlier one with ⟨ei⟩ in the 13th century.^[2] It is a doublet of strict, borrowed from the same Latin word.^[1][2] Cognate with Occitan estreit, Spanish estrecho, Portuguese estreito and Italian stretto.^[7][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Chanson de Roland (about 1100) has si chevalchent estreiz, “they ride in close ranks”.^[5][7]

Semantic evolution

Wace has it about 1155 for what has little width, the sense that became the main one.^[5][2] About 1165 Benoît de Sainte-Maure uses it for “close, intimate”, as in modern rapports étroits.^[5][2] A l'estroit, in too small a space, is in the Roman de Renart about 1205.^[5] From the 13th century it also meant “strict, rigorous” (un étroit devoir), hence le sens étroit of a word (1690).^[2][3] Guiot de Provins uses it for meanness, and it also describes a narrow mind (esprit étroit).^[5][8] La voie étroite, the narrow path of salvation, comes from the Gospel.^[3][8]

Timeline

• c. 1100 – “In close ranks”, in the Chanson de Roland.^[5]
• 1155 – “Narrow”, in Wace.^[5]
• c. 1165 – “Intimate”, in Benoît de Sainte-Maure.^[5]
• c. 1205 – A l'estroit in the Roman de Renart.^[5]
• 1636 – The spelling étroit, in Monet.^[3]
• 1690 – Sens étroit, the strict sense of a word.^[2]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Narrow, having little width: une rue étroite, un ruban étroit.^[8][3]
2. Small in extent, cramped: une étroite prison, à l'étroit, in too small a space.^[8][9]
3. (figurative) Narrow-minded, intolerant: un esprit étroit.^[8][3]
4. Close, intimate: des rapports étroits.^[2][3]
5. Strict, rigorous; of a word, taken in its narrow sense: au sens étroit.^[8][2]
6. La voie étroite, la porte étroite: the path of salvation, a life of self-denial.^[8]

Word family

• étroitement
• étroitesse

Related words

• strict
• étreindre
• étrécir
• rétrécir
• Latin strictus

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
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. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j 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
6. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
7. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ a b c d e f g Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)