arcade

Forms

arcade f (plural arcades)^[1]

Etymology

It is usually taken as borrowed from Italian arcata (“arch of a bridge”), a derivative of arco (“arc, bow”).^[2][3][4][1] Rey calls it a Renaissance word that followed Medieval Latin arcata (Avignon, 1291) and Old Occitan arcada (14th century), used mostly of the arch of a bridge;^[5] Wartburg derives it from Occitan rather than from Italian, since the Italian word meant “range of a bow” and is found as an architectural term only in the early 18th century.^[5] The Petit Robert gives both the Italian and the Old Occitan source.^[6][7] The Italian word goes back to Latin arcus (“bow, arch”).^[8][9]

Read within French, it is arc with the suffix -ade.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Grand Robert and the DHLF date the word to 1555;^[3][5] the TLFi's first record is from Du Pinet in 1562, and Bloch and Wartburg cite Rémy Belleau in the 16th century.^[10][2] It named an opening in a wall shaped as an arch.^[5]

Semantic evolution

By 1600 it also meant the arch of a bridge.^[5] In the 18th century it took special senses like those of arc: in anatomy (1762) and later in weaving, for a part of the Jacquard loom (1845); fausse arcade (1755) was a blind recess with no opening.^[5]

In architecture, set apart from arc and arche, it came to mean the arch together with its supports, and in the plural a gallery built of arches; from English it took the sense of a shopping arcade and of an amusement arcade with electronic games, a use frequent in Quebec.^[5] In Swiss French, starting in Geneva, the arcades of a street gave the sense “small shop premises”.^[5][11]

English took the word from French as arcado in the 1640s and arcade in 1731; the English word came to mean a covered avenue lined with shops (1795) and gave arcade game (1977).^[8]

Timeline

• 1291 – Medieval Latin arcata is recorded in Avignon.^[5]
• 1555 – First record of French arcade.^[3][5]
• 1562 – Du Pinet uses the word.^[10][6]
• 1600 – It is used of the arch of a bridge.^[5]
• 1640s – English borrows it as arcado.^[8]
• 1755 – Fausse arcade is recorded.^[5]
• 1762 – First anatomical use.^[5]
• 1845 – A technical sense in the Jacquard loom.^[5]

Meanings

Noun

1. (architecture) An arch resting on columns or piers, with its supports; in the plural, a gallery of such arches: les arcades d'une place.^[6][4][12]
2. Arcade aveugle: a blind arcade, whose opening is walled up.^[4][6]
3. (anatomy) An arch-shaped bony or vascular structure: arcade sourcilière “brow ridge”, arcade dentaire.^[6][11][1]
4. The part of the frame of a pair of glasses that rests on the nose.^[4][9]
5. Jeu d'arcade: a coin-operated arcade game, and salle d'arcade, a room with such games.^[12][11]
6. (Switzerland) Small shop premises.^[11][5]

Related words

• arc
• arche
• arcature
• Latin arcus
• English arcade

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
3. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
5. ^ 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
6. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ Wiktionnaire (French Wiktionary), fr.wiktionary.org
8. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
9. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
10. ^ a b Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
11. ^ a b c d Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
12. ^ a b Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)