œuf

Pronunciation

• IPA: /œf/^[1]

Forms

œuf m (plural œufs)^[1] Old French of (plural os), oef, uef, euf;^[2][3][4] œuf from the 14th century.^[2][3][4] Also written oeuf.^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French oef, inherited from Vulgar Latin *ŏvum, from classical Latin ōvum (“egg”).^{[5][2][6][1][7]} Bloch and Wartburg explain that the Latin word lost its /v/, the /o/ being opened by dissimilation, and was then remade with /v/ on the plural.^[6][5] The Latin word, like Ancient Greek ᾠόν (ōión), seems to be an Indo-European derivative of the word for “bird” that gave avis (see oiseau); the Petit Robert relates it, perhaps, to English egg and German Ei.^[2][8]

Cognate with Italian uovo, Spanish huevo, Portuguese ovo, Catalan ou and Occitan uòu.^[8][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Philippe de Thaon's Bestiaire (1120–1134) uses it for the egg laid by female birds: ses os pundra, she will lay her eggs.^[5][2]

Semantic evolution

In the 13th century it was the hen's egg as food (Aucassin et Nicolette), and Joinville has oefs durs about 1306.^[5][2] The eufs de Pasques of 1399 were eggs that children went from door to door to ask for at Easter; the custom later became decorated eggs and chocolate ones.^[5][2] About 1375 the word was extended to the eggs of fish, reptiles and insects, and Furetière (1690) to the “egg” of mammals.^[5][2]

Many phrases date from the 16th and 17th centuries: tondre sur un œuf “to be a skinflint” (Marot, 1526), plein comme un œuf (1640), ne pas mettre tous ses œufs dans un panier (1680) and marcher sur des œufs (1690).^[5][2] Hugo has écraser dans l'œuf (1830), and l'œuf de Colomb, a solution obvious once found, is from about 1842.^[5][2] Va te faire cuire un œuf is recorded in 1954, and the skier's tuck, la position en œuf, in 1961.^[5][9]

Timeline

• 1120–1134 – Of, in Philippe de Thaon.^[5]
• 13th century – A hen's egg as food.^[5]
• c. 1306 – Oefs durs, in Joinville.^[5]
• 1399 – Eufs de Pasques.^[5]
• 1526 – Tondre sur un œuf, in Marot.^[5]
• 1680 – Ne pas mettre tous ses œufs dans un panier.^[5]
• 1690 – Marcher sur des œufs, in Furetière.^[5]
• 1830 – Écraser dans l'œuf, in Hugo.^[5]
• 1961 – The skier's position en œuf.^[9]

Meanings

Noun

1. An egg, laid by birds, reptiles, fish or insects: œuf de poule, œuf d'autruche.^[8][3]
2. A hen's egg as food: œuf à la coque, œuf dur, œuf sur le plat, œufs brouillés.^[8][1]
3. (biology) An egg cell, a fertilized ovum.^[1][5]
4. Œuf de Pâques: an Easter egg.^[5][1]
5. Dans l'œuf: at the very beginning: tuer dans l'œuf, to nip in the bud.^[2][1]
6. Marcher sur des œufs: to tread carefully, plein comme un œuf, full to bursting.^[2][1]
7. (skiing) A tuck position; an egg-shaped gondola lift.^[9][1]
8. (familiar) A fool: quel œuf !^[5][2]

Word family

• œuvé
• œufrier

Related words

• ovaire
• ovipare
• ovale
• oiseau
• Latin ōvum

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t 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. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
7. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 7, 447a
8. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ a b c Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF