archal

Forms

archal m (plural archaux)^[1] Old French orchal (1170), then archal (1177).^[2][3][4] Middle French also archau, archail and archant (16th century).^[5]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French orchal, inherited from Latin aurichalcum (“brass, yellow copper”),^[2][4][1][6] an alteration of orīchalcum after aurum (“gold”).^[2][7][3] The initial ⟨ar-⟩ is unexplained; the TLFi suggests that it may have avoided a clash with or¹ “gold”, since the colour of brass is paler, closer to that of silver.^[2] Bloch and Wartburg call it a learned word whose development was irregular.^[7]

The Latin word is from Ancient Greek ὀρείχαλκος (oreíkhalkos, “brass”),^[2][1][4] from ὄρος (óros, “mountain”) and χαλκός (khalkós, “copper, bronze”), literally “mountain bronze”.^[4][5][3] Rey considers the second element obscure, perhaps from a root meaning “red” or an early borrowing from a Near Eastern language.^[4]

Cognate with Italian oricalco and Spanish auricalco;^[7][8] Littré also cites Norman arkal.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found as orchal in the Livre des Rois (1170), meaning brass: Hiram's pots, cans and pitchers furent tuit de orchal “were all of brass”.^[2][5]

Semantic evolution

The word has always meant brass.^[4] The Livre des métiers of the 13th century speaks of the bateres d'archal, the brass-beaters of Paris.^[5] The phrase fil d'archal “brass wire” is recorded from the 14th century, and, from the 16th or 17th century the word lives on only in it;^[7][2][4] it is very common in the Gallo-Romance dialects, especially with fil.^[7] In modern use fil d'archal is also iron or brass wire, often covered with cotton or paper.^[2]

Anglo-Norman had archal, with the forms orchal and orkal, for copper alloy, brass and bronze from the later 12th century.^[9]

Timeline

• 1170 – Orchal appears in the Livre des Rois.^[2][3]
• 1177 – Chrétien de Troyes writes archal in Yvain.^[2][3]
• 14th century – First record of fil d'archal.^[7][3]
• 1544 – A French Bible compares feet to archal.^[5]
• c. 1600 – Olivier de Serres uses fil d'archail; from then on the word is limited to this phrase.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. (rare) brass, an alloy of copper and zinc.^[2][1]
2. Fil d'archal: brass or iron wire, often covered with cotton or paper.^[2][10][11]

Related words

• laiton
• Latin aurichalcum
• Ancient Greek ὀρείχαλκος (oreíkhalkos)

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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
3. ^ a b c d e f Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d e f g Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b c d e f Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 25, 982a
7. ^ 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
8. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
9. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
10. ^ Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
11. ^ Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse