Etymologically
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accolade

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /a.kɔ.lad/[1]

Forms

accolade f (plural accolades)[1]

Etymology

It is derived from accoler (“to embrace (round the neck)”), remade with the suffix -ade from Old French acolee,[2][3][1][4] itself from “a-” and “col” “neck” (see cou, col), from Latin collum.[1][5] The Petit Robert and the REW also point to Provençal “acolada”, “colada”.[6][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Rabelais (1532) has it for putting one's arms round someone's neck;[2][7] Old French said l'acolée for the blow given with the hand or the sword on the nape when a knight was dubbed (Berte, 13th century).[4]

Semantic evolution

It is still used for an embrace, especially in official ceremonies such as the giving of a decoration (donner l'accolade).[7][6][8] Historically it was the blow with the flat of the sword and the embrace that made a knight.[6][2] Before 1718 it became the brace sign joining several lines, and in music (1768) several staves, Littré (1863) records the architectural ogee arch.[7][2][6] Saint-Simon and Gautier used it ironically, donner l'accolade à une bouteille.[2]

Timeline

  • 13th century – Old French acolée in dubbing.[4]
  • 1532 – Accolade in Rabelais.[2]
  • Before 1718 – The brace sign.[7]
  • 1768 – In music.[7]
  • 1845 – Accolader.[7]
  • 1863 – An ogee arch.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. An embrace, hug: donner l'accolade.[6][8]
  2. (history) The accolade (dubbing of a knight).[6][1]
  3. (typography) A curly bracket, brace.[6][1]
  4. (architecture) An ogee arch.[6][8]

Word family

  • accolader
  • accoler
  • cou
  • col
  • racoler

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ 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
  3. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  5. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  7. ^ a b c d e f Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  8. ^ a b c Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)