assiette

Forms

assiette f (plural assiettes)^[1] Old French assiete (1260); the spelling assiette is recorded from 1482.^[2]

Etymology

It is probably inherited from Vulgar Latin *assedita, the feminine past participle, used as a noun, of *assedeō,^[3][2][4][5] from Latin assideō (“to sit by”), from ad- and sedeō (“to sit”).^[1][3] In popular Latin this form had replaced the classical participle sessus; the /e/ became a diphthong, the /i/ of ⟨-di-⟩ was lost and the /t/ was kept.^[3] Rey thinks this more likely than a French formation from asseoir, to which the word is linked in meaning;^[3] Bloch and Wartburg gloss its first sense as “manner of being seated, placed”.^[4] Littré, unsure, proposed Old French siet (“fixed”), from Latin situs.^[6]

Meyer-Lübke lists it among the derivatives of Vulgar Latin *asseditō (“to seat”), with Italian assettare and Old Occitan asetar.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in 1260 for the assigning of a rent, and about 1270 for the apportioning of taxes;^[3] Beaumanoir (1283) uses it in this financial sense.^[8][6]

Semantic evolution

From the late 13th century the word also named the tax itself.^[3] From the 14th century other senses grew from the concrete meanings of the Latin verb and of asseoir: the position of a town (1402), a firm position, a person's way of sitting (1580, Montaigne) and a rider's seat, and figuratively a state of mind; of this last sense only the phrase ne pas être dans son assiette remains.^[3][9]

For the everyday sense, the word meant a guest's place at table (1393) and, almost at the same time, a dish served at a meal (1378); innkeepers were said to tenir assiette.^[3][2] From there it passed in 1507 to the flat piece of tableware.^[3][4] Phrases followed, such as assiette volante for side dishes (1690, Furetière), now gone, and piquer les assiettes “to eat at others' expense”, the source of pique-assiette (1807).^[3] Belgian French says assiette profonde for a soup plate; in Canada the word also names a pie tin, after English plate, and in Africa a shared dish.^[3]

Timeline

• 1260 – Assiete, the assigning of a rent.^[3][2]
• c. 1270 – The apportioning of taxes.^[3]
• 1378 – A dish served at a meal.^[3]
• 1393 – A guest's place at table.^[3][2]
• 1402 – The position of a town.^[3]
• 1482 – The spelling assiette is recorded.^[2]
• 1507 – First used for the plate.^[3][4]
• 1580 – Montaigne uses it for a way of sitting.^[3]
• 1690 – The derivative assiettée “plateful”.^[4][3]
• 1807 – Pique-assiette “sponger”.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. A plate, an individual piece of tableware, flat or more or less hollow.^[10][9]
2. The contents of a plate, a plateful: assiette anglaise, a plate of cold meats.^[10][3]
3. (riding) A rider's seat, the way he or she sits in the saddle.^[10][11]
4. The way a person or thing stands or rests on its base; stability.^[10]
5. Ne pas être dans son assiette: not to feel well, physically or in spirits.^[9][11]
6. (law, finance) The basis on which a tax or contribution is assessed.^[10][11]
7. (nautical, aviation) The trim of a ship or the attitude of an aircraft.^[10][1]

Word family

• pique-assiette
• assiettée

Related words

• asseoir
• seoir

References

1. ^ a b c d 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 h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d e Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 11, 399b
6. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
7. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
8. ^ Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
9. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
10. ^ a b c d e f Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
11. ^ a b c Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)