bain

Pronunciation

• IPA: /bɛ̃/^[1]

Forms

bain m (plural bains)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *baneum, an altered form of classical Latin balneum (“bathing; bath, (plural) public baths”), also “balineum”, borrowed from Ancient Greek βαλανεῖον (balaneîon, “bathhouse”).^{[2][3][4][1][5]} The Greek word, usual in prose, is formed from βαλανεύς (balaneús, “bath attendant”), an Attic word with no Indo-European match; it may be a loan from an Aegean language, or be connected with βάλανος (bálanos, “acorn; peg”), the peg that stopped the hole of a bathtub.^[2] In modern French “bain” is felt as an irregular noun from baigner, although that verb comes from a Latin derivative of “balneum”.^[2]

Cognate with Italian bagno, Occitan banh, Catalan bany, Spanish baño and Portuguese banho.^[6][7] bagne is a doublet, from Italian.^[1][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the Chanson de Roland (about 1080) bains in the plural are a bathing place: the baths of Aix that God made for Charlemagne, vos bains que pour vous Deus i fist.^[2][7][8]

Semantic evolution

Bains long named the room of a house or palace for bathing, until salle de bains replaced it, and, from the late 11th century a public bathhouse; later also a spa or seaside resort (1680).^[2] The singular bain is the act of bathing and the water one bathes in from about 1155, and the tub itself from 1525.^[2]

Furetière (1690) records the technical sense of a liquid in which something is dipped or heated, already present in bain-marie (14th century), a term of alchemy that probably refers to Mary the Jewess, sister of Moses, to whom alchemical works were attributed.^[2][3] Bain de soleil dates from 1860.^[2][6] In African French bain is also a wash with splashed water, and in Maghreb French bains-douches means a hammam.^[2]

Timeline

• c. 1080 – Bains, Chanson de Roland.^[2]
• c. 1155 – The act of bathing; the water.^[2]
• 14th century – Baing-marie in an alchemical text.^[7][3]
• 1525 – The bathtub.^[2]
• 1680 – A spa; a bathing place.^[2]
• 1690 – A liquid for dipping, Furetière.^[2]
• 1860 – Bain de soleil.^[2][6]

Meanings

Noun

1. A bath: dipping the body or part of it in water or another liquid, to wash or heal: prendre un bain, bain de pieds, salle de bains.^[6][1]
2. The bath water: faire couler un bain.^[6]
3. A swim, a dip: bain de mer; the pool of a swimming bath: le grand bain.^[6]
4. Bain de soleil: sunbathing.^[6]
5. (figurative) An immersion: bain de foule, être dans le bain, to be involved in something.^[6][4]
6. (familiar) Envoyer qqn au bain: to send someone packing.^[6][4]
7. (plural) Public baths; a spa.^[2]
8. (technical) A liquid in which something is dipped: photographic or chemical bath.^[2]

Word family

• bain-marie

Related words

• baigner
• baignoire
• bagne
• balnéaire
• Latin balneum

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
4. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 1, 225b
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert