Etymologically
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alcôve

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /al.kov/[1]

Forms

alcôve f (plural alcôves)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Spanish alcoba,[2][3][4][5][6] from Arabic القبة (al-qubba, “the dome, vaulted room”), with the Arabic article ال (al-).[2][3][7] The Spanish word meant a place for public weighing (1202), then a dome (1272–1284), and in the early 16th century a recess in a bedroom for the bed;[2][5] the Arabic had come to mean “small room next to a larger one” in the 14th century.[2][3] Wiktionary also allows Portuguese alcova.[1] The Arabic word had earlier given Old French alcube, a small tent.[3]

From French come German Alkoven and English alcove.[4][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Boisrobert's Épître à Mme de Motteville (1646) speaks of finding oneself “dedans l'Alcove en la chambre privée”, in the alcove of the private chamber.[2][5]

Semantic evolution

The word entered French in the world of the précieuses, whose ladies received company in the alcove of their bedroom, hence tenir alcôve “to hold a salon” (1660).[3][2][8] It could be masculine in the 17th century (La Fontaine), a use Littré condemned.[8][9] Later it became the setting of love affairs: secrets d'alcôve and histoires d'alcôve, recorded by Larousse in 1866.[3][6] Around Lyon it named a small back room lit through another (1796).[3]

Timeline

  • 1202 – Spanish alcoba, a public weighing place.[2][5]
  • 1646 – French alcôve (Boisrobert).[2][4]
  • 1660 – Tenir alcôve.[3]
  • 1796 – A small back room, in the Lyon region.[3]
  • 1866 – Secrets d'alcôve.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. An alcove, a recess in a bedroom for a bed.[6][8]
  2. (figurative) Intimacy, love affairs: secrets d'alcôve.[6][8]
  3. (literary history) The part of a bedroom where the précieuses received company.[6][2]

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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 j k Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  5. ^ a b c d Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  7. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 19, 96b
  8. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  9. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette