albinos

Forms

albinos (invariable)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Spanish albinos, the plural of albino.^[2][3][4][5] The Spanish word is recorded from about 1570 and is derived from the adjective albo (“white”), which comes from Latin albus (“white”).^[2][4]

Bloch and Wartburg and the GLLF take it from the Spanish and Portuguese phrase negros albinos (“white blacks”), first said by the Portuguese of people of the West African coast,^[6][7] and the Petit Robert names Portuguese albino as the source.^[8] The TLFi rejects a Portuguese origin, because the Portuguese word is recorded only from 1871 and is itself borrowed from Spanish.^[2] Littré notes that French uses the Spanish plural as a singular, which he considered incorrect but too well established to correct.^[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in 1665 in de Crécy's Guidon de la navigation, which describes people who see poorly by day and recover their sight at night, and says that the Spaniards call them Albinos.^[2][7]

Semantic evolution

Until the 18th century the word was used mostly of Black people without pigment, alongside nègres blancs, a translation of the Spanish phrase found in Buffon.^[3][6] The Petit Robert dates this sense to 1763 and the general sense of a person affected by albinism to 1822.^[8] It was then applied to people of every origin and to animals, especially as an adjective.^[3] The derivative albinisme followed in 1822 or 1838.^[6][3]

Timeline

• c. 1570 – Spanish albino is first recorded.^[2][3]
• 1665 – De Crécy uses Albinos in his Guidon de la navigation.^[2][7]
• 1763 – It is used of a white-skinned African.^[8]
• 1822 – It names any person affected by albinism.^[8]
• 1822 – Albinisme is first recorded.^[6]

Meanings

Noun

1. An albino, a person or animal affected by albinisme.^[8][10][11]

Adjective

1. (invariable) Affected by albinism, lacking pigmentation: une souris albinos.^[2][12][10]

Word family

• albinisme

Related words

• Latin albus

Usage notes

The word is invariable: un albinos, des albinos.^[1] Its final s is pronounced.^[9][1]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 24, 309a
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 c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
8. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
10. ^ a b Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
11. ^ Wiktionnaire (French Wiktionary), fr.wiktionary.org
12. ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)