barrage

Forms

barrage m (plural barrages)^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from French barrer + -age,^[2][1][3][4] or, for the TLFi, from French barre + -age.^[5][6] barre goes back to Vulgar Latin *barra, a word of pre-Roman origin;^[7] Bloch and Wartburg mention the comparison with Gaulish *barro- (“end”), known only from names, but find its sense a poor fit for the Romance words.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its first, isolated record is in the Couronnement de Louis (1130–1160), in the altered form barnage, for something that closes a passage, a barrier or gate.^[5][3] The word is next found in 1363, and in this concrete sense the Académie only records it in 1835.^[5]

Semantic evolution

In feudal law it named a barrier that could only be passed on payment of a toll, and the toll itself (1363).^[5][3][4] From 1669 it was used for a structure closing a river, the sense that became the commonest as dams grew larger and more complex.^[5][3] Later came the abstract sense "obstacle, difficulty", used in psychoanalysis and psychiatry to render German Hemmung, and the active sense "action of barring", especially in sport (1904).^[3] The First World War gave tir de barrage "barrage fire" (1915).^[5] English took barrage in 1859 for a barrier in a stream, and the artillery sense by 1916 from the French phrase.^[8]

Timeline

• 1130–1160 – Barnage “barrier, gate” in the Couronnement de Louis.^[5]
• 1190 – Garnier de Pont-Sainte-Maxence uses barrage.^[6]
• 1363 – It names a toll barrier and the right of passage.^[5][3]
• 1669 – An ordinance uses it for a barrier across a river.^[5][3]
• 1842 – Hugo writes of a natural barrage closing the Aegean.^[5]
• 1859 – English barrage is recorded.^[8]
• 1904 – It is used in sport for the action of barring.^[3]
• 1915 – Bourget uses tir de barrage.^[5]
• 1916 – The artillery sense reaches English.^[8]

Meanings

Noun

1. The action of barring a way: faire barrage à, to block, and figuratively to stand in the way of.^[9][6][1]
2. Something that closes a passage, a barrier or roadblock: un barrage de police.^[9][5][1]
3. (military) Tir de barrage: artillery fire meant to bar the enemy's way.^[5][9][1]
4. A dam across a river.^[9][4][1]
5. (sports) Match de barrage: a playoff between competitors level on points.^[5][9][1]
6. (figurative) An obstacle, opposition.^[9] (psychiatry) A sudden halt in speech, (psychoanalysis) a blocking.^[9]

Related words

• barre
• barrer
• barrière
• barreau
• English barrage

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n 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
6. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
7. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
8. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
9. ^ a b c d e f g Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert