Etymologically
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œil

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Pronunciation

Forms

œil m (plural yeux or œils)[1] Old French ol (about 980), oil (about 1050), ueil and uel (12th century); œil from 1342.[2][3][4] The plural went from olz and ialz to ieus, yeus (12th century), yeulx (1342) and yeux; it continues the Latin accusative plural oculos regularly.[5][3][6] In compounds and some technical senses the plural is œils (des œils-de-bœuf).[4][1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French oil, inherited from Latin oculus (“eye”), through a Vulgar Latin “oclus”.[3][6][1][7] The Latin word also named anything shaped like an eye, such as a spot on a fur or a peacock's tail, or a bud, and was used as a term of endearment.[3][2] Its suffix, according to Rey, marks an active, animate being rather than a diminutive, Littré took it as a diminutive.[3][8]

The root is the Indo-European word for “eye, see”, which Wiktionary gives as Proto-Indo-European *h₃ekʷ-; it is found in Sanskrit ईक्षते (ī́kṣate, “he looks”), Ancient Greek ὤψ (ṓps, “sight; face”), Russian око (oko), German Auge and English eye.[3][9][1] Rey notes that the name of the eye varies from language to language partly because of beliefs about the evil eye.[3] “Œil” is a doublet of the learned oculus.[1]

Cognate with Romanian ochi, Italian occhio, Occitan uelh, Catalan ull, Spanish ojo and Portuguese olho.[9][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in the Passion de Clermont (late 10th century), in the plural olz “eyes” (sos olz torned).[4][2]

Semantic evolution

By about 1100 the Chanson de Roland uses it of the eye as a feature of the face (Vairs out les oilz “he had bright eyes”), as the organ of sight (ja nel verrai des oilz “I shall never see him with my eyes”) and of opening the eyes.[4][8] The eye as the sign of feelings appears in de bon oeil veeir “to look on kindly” (1155).[4]

A large phraseology grew up: oil pour oil “an eye for an eye” (about 1265), un trait d'œil (1450–1465) and then coup d'œil (1668), avoir les yeux plus grands que le ventre (1580, Montaigne), pour les beaux yeux de quelqu'un (1640), faire de l'œil (1665), entre quatre yeux (1690) and obéir au doigt et à l'œil (1812, after Cotgrave's servi au doigt et à l'œil, 1611).[4] Slang used œil for “credit” (1843), and popular French made the verb zieuter from les yeux (1907).[10][5]

Timeline

  • Late 10th century – Plural olz in the Passion de Clermont.[4]
  • c. 1050 – Oil in the Vie de saint Alexis.[4]
  • 1155 – De bon oeil in Wace.[4]
  • c. 1265 – Oil pour oil in Brunetto Latini.[4]
  • 1342 – The spellings oeil and yeulx.[4]
  • 1580 – Avoir les yeux plus grands que le ventre in Montaigne.[4]
  • 1668 – Coup d'œil in Molière's Amphitryon.[4]
  • 1843 – Slang œil “credit”.[10]
  • 1907 – Zieuter, from les yeux.[5]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The eye, organ of sight (plural yeux): avoir les yeux bleus.[1][8]
  2. Look, gaze; way of looking at something: d'un bon œil, coup d'œil.[4][3]
  3. Attention, watchfulness: avoir l'œil sur quelqu'un, avoir l'œil, to be observant.[4][8]
  4. An eye-shaped hole: the eye of a needle (plural œils).[1]
  5. (typography) The face of a character (plural œils).[1]
  6. (dated slang) Credit at a shop or restaurant.[10]

Word family

  • œillère
  • œillet
  • œillade
  • œilleton
  • ouiller
  • œil-de-bœuf
  • inoculer
  • oculaire
  • oculiste
  • oculus
  • zieuter

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c 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 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 m n o 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 c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  6. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  7. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 7, 310a
  8. ^ a b c d Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  9. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  10. ^ a b c Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF