Etymologically
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aile

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Pronunciation

Forms

aile f (plural ailes)[1] Old French ele, eille, aule, aesle;[2][3][4][5][1] Middle French aisle, aelle; the spelling aile dates from the 15th century.[2][3][4][5][1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French ele, inherited from Latin āla (“wing; armpit; wing of an army”), respelt with ⟨ai⟩ in the 15th century after the Latin word.[6][2][3][4][7] The Latin noun is related to axis (“axle”) (see aisselle, axe, essieu), probably an old derivative from a supposed *axla.[2][5][8]

Cognate with Italian ala, Spanish ala, Occitan ala, Catalan ala and Portuguese asa.[8][9][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in the 12th century as ele, for the wing of a bird;[2][4][5] Thomas Becket's Life (12th century) already has l'eele del nort for the north side.[2][4][5]

Semantic evolution

From the bird's wing came many phrases: à tire d'aile (1532), donner des ailes à (1652), and battre de l'aile “to be in a bad way” (1611), preceded by ne battre que d'une aile (1606).[2] Sous l'aile de “under the protection of” is from 1403.[2] The wing of a fowl as food, as opposed to the leg, is from the 13th century.[2]

The idea of a side gave the wing of a building (about 1200), of an army (1310), of the nose (1546) and of a hat (1611); in the 20th century it was used of a football team (1924) and of a political party (1924).[2][10] The sail of a windmill is in Rabelais (1534); the lifting surface of an aircraft dates from the 1860s, and the wing of a motor car, over the wheel, from the early 20th century.[2][10]

Timeline

  • Early 12th century – Ele, a bird's wing.[8][2]
  • c. 1200 – The wing of a building.[2]
  • 1310 – The wing of an army.[2]
  • 1403 – Sous les ailes de, “under the protection of”.[2]
  • 15th century – The spelling aile.[3][4]
  • 1534 – The sail of a windmill, in Rabelais.[2]
  • 1546 – Les ailes du nez.[2]
  • 1611 – Battre de l'aile.[2]
  • 1902 – The wing of a car.[10]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A wing of a bird, bat or insect: l'oiseau bat des ailes.[8][11]
  2. The wing of a fowl as food.[2][1]
  3. The wing of an aircraft.[1][2]
  4. A side part: the wing of a building, an army, a sports team or a political party.[1][2]
  5. The fender or wing of a car.[1][10]
  6. The sail of a windmill; the side of the nose: les ailes du nez.[1][2]
  7. Battre de l'aile: to be in a bad way, avoir du plomb dans l'aile, to be in trouble, prendre sous son aile, to take under one's wing.[8][12][1]
  8. Voler de ses propres ailes: to stand on one's own two feet.[11][1]

Word family

  • aileron
  • ailette
  • ailier
  • ailé
  • aisselle
  • alaire
  • Latin āla

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  3. ^ a b c d e Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  4. ^ a b c d e f Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ a b c d e Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  6. ^ 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
  7. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 24, 281a
  8. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  9. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  10. ^ a b c d Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
  11. ^ a b Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
  12. ^ Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse