archiduc

Forms

archiduc m (plural archiducs)^[1] Middle French also had archeduc.^[2][3] The feminine is archiduchesse (1504).^[4][5]

Etymology

It is formed from French archi- + duc¹.^[6][7][8][1] duc¹ is from Latin dux (“leader”), which in the Late Empire named a high military commander.^[9] Etymonline traces the English word archduke to the French form archeduc and further to Medieval Latin archiducem, a Merovingian Latin form of about 750.^[10]

Earliest recorded meaning

The dictionaries date the word to 1486;^[6][7][9] the DMF quotes les archiducs d'Austrice “the archdukes of Austria” from Olivier de La Marche's Mémoires, which it dates to about 1470.^[2]

Semantic evolution

The word named a duke with authority over other dukes,^[11][7] and specifically became the title of the princes of the house of Austria.^[11][4] With grand-duc it belongs to the ranks of the nobility formed on duc.^[5] The derivatives archiducal (about 1500) and archiduché (1512) follow soon after.^[9] In cooking, œufs archiduc are eggs dressed with paprika.^[11] English borrowed the French word in the 1520s as archduke.^[10]

Timeline

• c. 1470 – Olivier de La Marche writes of the archdukes of Austria.^[2]
• 1486 – The usual date of first record.^[6][7][9]
• 1504 – The feminine archiduchesse is recorded.^[9][5]
• 1520s – English borrows the word as archduke.^[10]
• 1611 – Cotgrave glosses it as “an Archduke”.^[12]

Meanings

Noun

1. (history) A duke holding authority over other dukes.^[11][7]
2. An archduke, the title of the princes of the house of Austria.^[4][11][13]

Word family

• archiduchesse
• archiducal
• archiduché

Related words

• duc¹
• grand-duc
• Latin dux
• English archduke

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Dictionnaire du Moyen Français, version 2015 (DMF 2015), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/dmf
3. ^ Godefroy, Frédéric (1881–1902), Dictionnaire de l'ancienne langue française et de tous ses dialectes du IXe au XVe siècle, 10 vols., Paris: Vieweg / Bouillon
4. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, 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. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
9. ^ a b c d e Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
10. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
11. ^ a b c d e 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
12. ^ Cotgrave, Randle (1611), A Dictionarie of the French and English Tongues, London: Adam Islip
13. ^ Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)