Chandeleur

Forms

Chandeleur f^[1] Old French chandelur (1119) and chandelor; the form with -eur is recorded from 1262.^[2][3][4] Anglo-Norman spellings include candelur, chaundelur and chandelour.^[5]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French chandelur, inherited from Vulgar Latin *candelōrum, a genitive plural left over by ellipsis from the phrase festa *candelōrum, which stands for Latin festa candēlārum (“feast of candles”), from candēla (“candle”).^{[2][3][6][7][8]} The masculine ending ⟨-ōrum⟩ replaced ⟨-ārum⟩ under the influence of the associated phrase festa cereōrum (“feast of wax tapers”), from cereus (“wax taper”) (see cierge).^[2][3][7] The feast is named for the blessed candles carried in procession.^[2][3] The ending was later remade as ⟨-eur⟩ (1262).^[3]

It is a rare case of a French word coming straight from a Latin genitive, like leur from illōrum.^[1] Littré compares the Old French phrases la geste francor, from gesta Francorum, and la gent paienor, from gens paganorum.^[4]

Cognate with Italian candelora and candelara (from the form in ⟨-arum⟩),^[6] Picard candeleur^[4] and Old Occitan candelor.^[4][6] In Burgundy and elsewhere the suffix was replaced, giving chandelouse.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded as chandelur in 1119, in Philippe de Thaon's Comput, naming the feast of Candlemas on 2 February.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

The word has kept its religious sense: the Catholic feast of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple and the Purification of the Virgin, once celebrated with a procession carrying wax candles or tapers.^[2][3] Villehardouin, in the early 13th century, writes Nostre dame chandeleur and dates events entour la chandelor “around Candlemas”.^[4]

In everyday use it also calls up secular festivities, above all the making of pancakes (crêpes).^[3][9] The feast also gave its name to weather proverbs.^[2]

Timeline

• 1119 – Chandelur appears in Philippe de Thaon's Comput.^[2][3]
• 1207 – Medieval Latin festum S. Mariae Candelarum is recorded.^[2]
• Early 13th century – Villehardouin writes Nostre dame chandeleur.^[4]
• 1262 – The form chandeleur appears in Jean le Marchand's Miracles de Notre-Dame de Chartres.^[2]

Meanings

Proper noun

1. Candlemas, the Catholic feast of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple and the Purification of the Virgin, on 2 February.^[9][2][1]

Related words

• chandelle
• chandelier
• cierge
• Latin candēla

Usage notes

The word is written with a capital letter.^[10] The TLFi records the weather proverbs À la chandeleur, l'hiver se passe ou prend vigueur (“At Candlemas winter either ends or grows stronger”) and À la chandeleur, grandes douleurs (“At Candlemas, great pains”).^[2]

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 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
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d e f Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
5. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
6. ^ a b c d Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
7. ^ a b Picoche, Jacqueline (1991), Dictionnaire étymologique du français, Paris: Le Robert (Les Usuels du Robert)
8. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 2, 179b
9. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
10. ^ Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse