allemand

Pronunciation

• IPA: /al.mɑ̃/^[1]

Forms

allemand (feminine allemande, masculine plural allemands, feminine plural allemandes)^[1] First aleman (1080), then alemant (12th century, with the -t of the oblique case) and alemand (13th century), by a change of suffix.^[2][3][4] The noun for a German person is capitalized: un Allemand, une Allemande.^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Late Latin Alamannus (“Alamannic”), also written “Alemannus”, the name of a confederation of western Germanic peoples, whose country was “Alamannia” (whence Allemagne).^[2][4][5] The Latin name is Germanic: Old High German Alaman probably comes from “ala” “all” (compare English all) and “man” “man”; a link with the river name “Alle” has also been suggested for the first element.^[2][3] Littré cites the Greek historian Agathias, after Asinius Quadratus, who explained the name as men gathered from many places.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The GLLF and the Petit Robert date it to the Chanson de Roland (1080), written aleman, Littré's earliest quotation (12th century) names Aleman ne Tieis among foreign peoples.^[3][5][6]

Semantic evolution

As adjective and noun it has applied to the inhabitants of Germany, with geographical references that varied with the political entities of each period.^[2] The language is called alemant from the 13th century.^[2] Querelle d'Allemand, a quarrel over nothing, followed querelle d'Allemagne (16th century) and alludes to the country's warlike reputation.^[2][6] C'est du haut allemand meant “it's all Greek to me”.^[6][3] The allemande (1542) is a dance and the movement of a suite derived from it.^[2]

Timeline

• c. 1100 – Aleman, Chanson de Roland.^[3][5]
• 12th century – Alemant.^[2]
• 13th century – Alemant, the language; the form alemand.^[2][4]
• 16th century – Querelle d'Allemagne.^[2][6]
• 1542 – Allemande, a dance.^[2]

Meanings

Adjective

1. German: of Germany, its people or its language: la philosophie allemande, un berger allemand.^[5][1]

Noun

1. The German language: parler allemand, haut allemand, bas allemand.^[1][3]
2. Un Allemand, une Allemande: a German.^[1][5]
3. Querelle d'Allemand: a quarrel over nothing.^[2][6]

Word family

• allemande

Related words

• alémanique
• Allemagne

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
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. ^ a b c 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. ^ a b c d e f Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette