andouille

Forms

andouille f (plural andouilles)^[1] Old French andoille, endoille.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French andoille, probably inherited from Late Latin *inductilia, a plural taken as a feminine collective, the neuter of inductilis, used as a noun.^[2][4][5][6] The adjective comes from indūcō (“to lead in, to put in”), from in- and dūcō (“to lead”).^[5][7] The sense was probably the stuffing put into the gut to make the sausage.^[7][4][8] Medieval Latin has inductilia in the modern sense, and Littré notes that an old German glossary uses inductilis to translate boudin.^[7][5][3]

The English word andouille was borrowed from French about 1600.^[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

It first appears about 1178 in the Roman de Renart, where the animals find une grant andoille beside the road, meaning a stuffed pork gut.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

In the same Roman de Renart the word is a joking name for the penis, an old sense now out of use.^[2][5] A 1721 declaration uses it for a roll of tobacco leaves.^[2] Mocking phrases such as dépendeur d'andouilles and these playful metaphors may have led to the figurative “fool”, which Larousse records in 1866.^[5][2] Faire l'andouille is to play the fool.^[5][10]

Timeline

• c. 1178 – Andoille is found in the Roman de Renart, both as a sausage and as a name for the penis.^[2]
• 1451 – The diminutive Andoilette is recorded as a proper name.^[5][7]
• About 1600 – English borrows andouille.^[9]
• 1721 – Names a roll of tobacco.^[2]
• 1866 – Larousse records c'est une andouille “he is a fool”.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. An andouille, a cooked sausage of pork or veal guts cut into strips and packed into a casing, eaten cold.^[10][11][12]
2. (familiar) A fool, an idiot;^[10][11][12] faire l'andouille: to play the fool.^[10][11][12]
3. (dated, familiar) Un grand dépendeur d'andouilles: a very tall person.^[10][8]

Word family

• andouillette

Related words

• enduire
• induire
• Latin indūcō

References

1. ^ a b 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 Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
4. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b c d e f g Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 4, 652b
7. ^ a b c d Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
8. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
9. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
10. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
11. ^ a b c Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
12. ^ a b c Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)