Etymologically
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appareil

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /a.pa.ʁɛj/[1]

Forms

appareil m (plural appareils)[1] Old French nominative apareils, aparaus, oblique apareil; the old plural survives in the nautical apparaux.[2][3]

Etymology

It is a deverbal noun from French appareiller (“to prepare”).[4][5][6][1] The verb is an early Gallo-Roman word (1080), from Late Latin *appariculō, an extension of classical apparō (“to prepare”), from parō (“to make ready”) (see parer).[6][3] The GLLF and Bloch and Wartburg derive the noun itself from popular Latin *appariculum, an extension of apparātus (“preparation”);[7][3][6][1] Rey thinks the sense “set of elements” could come from that form, from a metonymy, or from both, and Wiktionary finds the Latin noun less likely.[7][3][6][1] apparat is a learned doublet.[1]

Cognate with Old Occitan aparelh, Spanish aparejo, Portuguese aparelho and Italian apparecchio.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Chanson d'Antioche (late 12th century) has aparaus for preparations; its first sense is “preparations”, and, from about 1170 it is also a set of things prepared for a purpose.[7][2][6]

Semantic evolution

Until the 17th century it meant preparations in general, and also the unfolding of a ceremony and its pomp (1538), close to apparat and apprêt;[3][6][5] dans le plus simple appareil “stark naked” comes from this sense.[3][6][5] In the 15th century it named military equipment, and haut appareil a full suit of armour (16th century).[6]

Specialized senses followed: the bond of masonry in a wall (1676), a set of dressings in surgery (1636), a functional set of organs in physiology (late 18th century, appareil digestif), the machinery of laws, and in Marxist language the apparatus of a State or party (1929, in a translation of Trotsky), whence apparatchik (1965).[6][8] The most common sense, a device or machine, is old but developed with the sciences early in the 19th century (instruments for an experiment, 1805); by ellipsis it is a camera (late 19th century), a telephone (1878) and an aircraft.[6][7][8][1]

Timeline

  • late 12th century – Aparaus “preparations”, in the Chanson d'Antioche.[7][2]
  • c. 1170 – A set of things prepared for a purpose.[6]
  • 1538 – Ceremonial pomp.[6]
  • 1636 – A surgical dressing.[6]
  • 1676 – The bond of masonry.[6]
  • 1805 – Scientific apparatus.[6]
  • 1878 – A telephone.[8]
  • 1929 – The party apparatus, in a translation of Trotsky.[6]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A device, apparatus, machine: appareils ménagers, household appliances.[5][1]
  2. A camera (appareil photo); a telephone: qui est à l'appareil ?; an aircraft.[1][8]
  3. (anatomy) A system of organs: appareil digestif, appareil respiratoire.[1][6]
  4. (politics) The apparatus, the organization of a State or party.[6][8]
  5. (surgery) A set of dressings; an appliance.[6]
  6. (architecture) The bond, the arrangement of stones in masonry.[6]
  7. (literary) Pomp, display, dans le plus simple appareil, naked.[5][1]
  8. (cooking) A ready-made mixture of ingredients for a dish.[1]

Word family

  • appareillage
  • apparatchik
  • appareiller
  • apparat
  • apprêt
  • parer
  • Latin apparātus

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  3. ^ a b c d e f Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  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. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  7. ^ a b c d e Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  8. ^ a b c d e Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF