amande

Forms

amande f (plural amandes)^[1] Old French alemande, almande;^[2][3][4] Middle French amandre (until the 16th century) and amende (common until the 17th century).^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French alemande, inherited from Late Latin amandula, an altered form of amygdala (“almond, almond tree”), which is from Ancient Greek ἀμυγδάλη (amugdálē).^[4][2][1] The Late Latin form is recorded in the glossaries and, in the 6th century, by Plinius Valerianus and Oribasius.^[4] Rey sees it as an alteration of amandala, itself from the classical form.^[2]

The TLFi, following Aebischer, concludes from the North Italian forms and the Old Lyonnais and Old Dauphinois forms that the word reached northern France from northern Italy through the Lyon market;^[4] Bloch and Wartburg also think it came by way of Dauphiné and the Lyonnais,^[3] but Rey calls the Italian influence not established.^[2] Old Occitan amela and Catalan amenla continue the classical form.^[4]

Cognate with Italian mandorla, Spanish almendra.^[3][5][6] The learned amygdale “tonsil” is a later borrowing of the same Greek word.^[2][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found as alemande at the end of the 12th century, in Guillaume de Berneville's Vie de saint Gilles, meaning the almond, fruit of the almond tree.^[4] The form amande appears in Étienne Boileau's Livre des métiers (1268–1271), where oil may be made de olives, de amandes.^[4][5]

Semantic evolution

By 1393 the word was used for any kernel inside a fruit stone, as in the Ménagier de Paris: l'amande d'un noyau de cerise.^[4] Amande won out over alemande, amandre and the other variants, and over the Greek reborrowing amygdale, which was kept for another sense.^[2]

In confectionery amande lissée (1694) and amande pralinée (1835) named sugared almonds.^[2] From its oval shape the word, and the phrase en amande, were applied to a shell (1803), a pearl (1836), the oval part of a sword guard (1751) and the oval frame around a Christ in glory (1866), beside the Italianism mandorle.^[2] The colour vert amande is recorded in 1897.^[2] The English word almond (c. 1300) comes from Old French almande, amande.^[8]

Timeline

• End of the 12th century – Alemande in Guillaume de Berneville's Vie de saint Gilles.^[4]
• 1268–1271 – Amande appears in Étienne Boileau's Livre des métiers.^[4]
• c. 1300 – English almond is recorded, from Old French.^[8]
• 1372 – The derivative amandier “almond tree” is recorded.^[3][2]
• 1393 – Used for the kernel of a fruit stone in the Ménagier de Paris.^[4]
• 1694 – Amande lissée “sugared almond”.^[2]
• 1751 – The oval part of a sword guard.^[2]
• 1866 – The oval frame around a figure of Christ in glory.^[2]
• 1897 – Vert amande “almond green”.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. An almond, the oily edible seed of the almond tree: amandes douces, amandes amères.^[7][9]
2. En amande: almond-shaped, oval: des yeux en amande.^[7][9]
3. Vert amande: a soft green.^[7]
4. Any kernel contained in a fruit stone.^[9][5]
5. Amande de mer: a bivalve of the genus Glycymeris.^[1]

Word family

• amandine
• amandier

Related words

• amygdale
• mandorle
• Latin amygdala
• English almond

Usage notes

Amande is a homophone of amende “fine”.^[4]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ a b c d e Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m 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
5. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
6. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
7. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
9. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse