allée

Forms

allée f (plural allées)^[1] Old French alee.^[1][2]

Etymology

It is the feminine past participle of aller used as a noun.^[3][4][5][6] Du Cange explained the word as a wrong division of ⟨la lée⟩, ⟨lée⟩ being an old word for a ride through a forest, but Littré rejected this, since the sense “path” is found in the 13th and 14th centuries; he held that the action of going came to name the place one walks, as with sortie.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in 1160, in Benoît de Sainte-Maure, meaning the action of going, whence also “journey, expedition” and “departure” (1260).^[3][7]

Semantic evolution

The active sense survives only in allées et venues “comings and goings” (second half of the 15th century); the speed sense of à grande alée passed to allure.^[7][3] From 1204 the word named, by metonymy, a way: first a parapet walk, then an access, a corridor (1278), a passage (1456), and the path between the beds of a kitchen garden (1570).^[7]

Its most important use is a broad, straight walk for strolling, often lined with trees (1538); allée couverte is a shaded walk and, in archaeology, a gallery of standing stones (1845).^[7] In the 20th century it came to mean the aisle of a church or a theatre and a passage in a mine (1928).^[7] In the Lyonnais, allée is the passage giving access to a block of flats.^[7]

Timeline

• 1160 – Benoît de Sainte-Maure uses it for the action of going.^[3][7]
• 1204 – First used for a way or walk.^[7]
• 1278 – A corridor.^[7]
• 15th century – Allées et venues.^[7]
• 1538 – A broad walk for strolling.^[7]
• 1845 – Allée couverte in archaeology.^[7]

Meanings

Noun

1. A path or walk in a garden, park or wood, usually lined with trees, lawns or flower beds; in towns, an avenue or promenade: les allées du jardin.^[5][3][1]
2. Allées et venues: comings and goings; the steps taken to get something done.^[5][3]
3. An aisle between rows of seats, as in a church or theatre.^[1][5]
4. (dated) A corridor or passage leading from the street into a house.^[5][2][1]
5. A driveway; a bowling lane.^[1]
6. Allée couverte: (archaeology) a gallery grave of standing stones covered by slabs.^[7][1]

Related words

• aller
• allure

Usage notes

In the Lyonnais, allée is the corridor leading to the stairs of a building, and porte d'allée its street door.^[7]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
3. ^ a b c d e f Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
4. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert