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allotir

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Etymology and origin of the French word allotir

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1304 Year Books of Edward I More words from the 14th century
Ultimate origins
French a-Frankish *lot
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
French lot
Italian lotto
French loto
English lotto
Romanian lot
French allotir

Pronunciation

  • /a.lɔ.tiʁ/[1]

Forms

allotir[1] Anglo-Norman aloter (1304).[2][3] Hatzfeld and Darmesteter also list alloter.[2]

Etymology

It is formed from French a- + lot, with the verb ending -er, later -ir.[2][3][4] The Anglo-Norman form aloter came first (1304), and the modern form is recorded in 1611.[2][5] Lot is from Frankish *lōt.[6] The Wiktionnaire traces the word to the Old French verb.[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is aloter in the Anglo-Norman Year Books of Edward I (1304), of a rent divided among three daughters' shares: to divide into lots, to share out.[2]

Semantic evolution

Cotgrave recorded allotir in 1611 with the gloss “to divide, or part”.[2][8] It became a legal term for dividing an estate into lots for the heirs, together with its derivative allotissement (1866, earlier allotement, 1577).[5][8] Littré called it a term of the old law.[4] In modern use it means to form lots for a division or a sale.[2][9]

Timeline

  • 1304 – Aloter appears in the Year Books of Edward I.[2]
  • 1577 – The derivative allotement is recorded.[5]
  • 1611 – Cotgrave records allotir.[2][6]
  • 1844 – Balzac uses it in Les Paysans.[2][8]
  • 1866 – Allotissement is recorded.[5]

Meanings

Verb

  1. To divide into lots for a partage or a sale.[2][9]
  2. (law) To share an estate out in lots among the heirs.[8][5]

Word family

  • allotissement
  • allotement
  • lot
  • lotir
  • lotissement

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  5. ^ a b c d e Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  7. ^ Wiktionnaire (French Wiktionary), fr.wiktionary.org
  8. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  9. ^ a b Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
Cite this entry

“Allotir.” Etymologically, 15 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/allotir. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

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