aïeul

Forms

aïeul m (plural aïeuls or aïeux, feminine aïeule)^[1] Old French aiuel (about 1050), aioel (early 13th century); feminine aiuele (about 1180).^[2] Two plurals: aïeux, from the old oblique plural aiues, aieus, and aïeuls, remade on the singular in the 17th century.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French aiuel, inherited from Vulgar Latin *aviolus, feminine *aviola, a diminutive of Latin avus (“grandfather”), feminine avia.^{[2][4][5][1][6]} Bloch and Wartburg call its sound development irregular, as often happens in kinship terms.^[5] Rey notes that the Latin word was not first a kinship term but a familiar name for an elder of the group, and that it is of Indo-European origin; the Latin avunculus derived from it gave oncle.^[2]

Cognate with Italian avolo, Old Occitan aviol and Spanish abuelo;^[7] Littré also cites Berry aïol and Walloon aiouz.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

It first meant “grandfather” (about 1050), and the feminine “grandmother” (about 1180).^[2]

Semantic evolution

From the early 13th century the masculine also meant “ancestor”, often in the plural.^[2] In the 18th century the two plurals were told apart: aïeux for the ancestors, aïeuls for the grandparents.^[2] From the 16th century grand-père replaced it in the sense “grandfather”, and aïeul became a literary word.^[5][8] In the sense “ancestor” it has extended and figurative uses (from 1821).^[2] The familiar exclamation mes aïeux ! calls one's ancestors to witness something remarkable.^[3]

Timeline

• c. 1050 – Aiuel is recorded with the sense “grandfather”.^[2]
• c. 1180 – The feminine aiuele “grandmother” appears.^[2]
• early 13th century – The form aioel and the sense “ancestor” appear.^[2]
• 16th century – Grand-père takes over and aïeul becomes literary.^[5]
• 17th century – The plural aïeuls is formed on the singular.^[2]
• 18th century – Aïeux “ancestors” and aïeuls “grandparents” are distinguished.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. (dated) A grandfather; in the feminine aïeule, a grandmother: aïeul paternel, aïeul maternel.^[3][7][9]
2. (literary) In the plural aïeux: ancestors, forefathers.^[3][1]
3. Mes aïeux !: a familiar exclamation of surprise.^[3]

Word family

• bisaïeul
• trisaïeul
• quadrisaïeul

Related words

• oncle
• grand-père
• Latin avus

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 m Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b c d Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 25, 1228b
7. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
9. ^ 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