aqueduc

Forms

aqueduc m (plural aqueducs)^[1] Earlier aqueducte (1518) and aqueduct (1553), the latter used through the 16th and 17th centuries.^[2][3][4][5] A variant aquaduc is recorded in some dialects of France, notably in Saintonge.^[6][7]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin aquaeductus (“conduit of water”), a Renaissance borrowing of the Latin phrase made of aquae, the genitive of aqua (“water”), and ductus (“conduct, conduit”), from dūcō (“to lead”).^[8][2][5][9] The earlier forms aqueducte and aqueduct were later simplified.^[8][2]

A late Latin variant Late Latin aquiductus gave popular forms in the region of Lyon and the Italian word, but the humanists set it aside.^[5][8] The many Roman aqueducts in France helped keep the form and sense of the word stable.^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded in 1518, as aqueducte in the Faicts des Sainctz Pères, for a structure that carries water from one place to another.^[4][8][2]

Semantic evolution

Its sense has stayed close to the Latin: a channel, underground or raised on arches, bringing water from one place to another.^[8][3] In anatomy it names certain canals in bones or soft tissue, as in aqueduc de Fallope.^[4][3] In France the pronunciation with [ə] was usual from the 17th to the 19th century.^[6][7]

In Quebec French, under the influence of the English word aqueduct, it came to mean the network of pipes supplying running water to a town (from 1829 according to the DHFQ, 1853 according to the BDLP) and the water service itself, as in service d'aqueduc.^[6][7][3] From 1930 it was also used there, now dated, for a water tap.^[7][6]

Timeline

• 1518 – First record, as aqueducte.^[4][8][2]
• 1553 – Aqueduct in Charles Estienne.^[10][2][5]
• 1829 – In Quebec, the water-supply network.^[6]
• 1834 – In Quebec, the water service.^[6]
• 1930 – In Quebec, a water tap.^[7][6]

Meanings

Noun

1. An aqueduct, a channel, underground or raised on arches, that carries water from one place to another.^[3][4][8]
2. (anatomy) A name for certain canals in the body, as in the ear.^[3][4]
3. (Quebec) The network of pipes supplying running water, or the water service: une maison sans aqueduc.^[7][6][3]
4. (Quebec, dated) A water tap.^[7]

Related words

• conduit
• eau
• Latin aqua
• Latin dūcō

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ a b c d e f g Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d e f Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
5. ^ a b c d Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
6. ^ a b c d e f g h Poirier, Claude, et al. (2024), Dictionnaire historique du français québécois, 2nd ed., Trésor de la langue française au Québec, Université Laval, dhfq.org
7. ^ a b c d e f g Base de données lexicographiques panfrancophone (BDLP), Trésor de la langue française au Québec / Agence universitaire de la Francophonie, bdlp.org
8. ^ a b c d e f g h Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 25, 68b
10. ^ Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF