beaucoup

Pronunciation

• IPA: /bo.ku/^[1]
• IPA (Louisiana): /bo.ku/^[1]
• IPA (Louisiana): /bu.ku/^[1]

Forms

beaucoup^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from French beau + coup.^{[2][3][4][1][5]} “Coup” is probably used here in the sense “part cut off from a whole”, as in Old French “grant coup de la terre” “a large part of the land” (Joinville).^[6][4][7] Wiktionary adds that “coup” also meant “a helping of soup or drink” (about 1375), a sense that may have helped, Etymonline glosses “beaucoup” as “a great heap” and compares Spanish “golpe” “multitude”.^[1][8] “Coup” itself comes from popular Latin “colpus”, from Latin colaphus (“blow with the fist”), from Ancient Greek κόλαφος (kólaphos, “slap”).^[6]

Old Occitan had “belcop” in the same sense.^[6] “Beaucoup” replaced Old French moult (“much”), from Latin “multum”, in the 16th century.^[6][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in the 13th century as a noun, biau cop “a fine, great thing”, in Joinville, where it is used of the shots of siege engines.^[2][7][3]

Semantic evolution

In 1379 beaucoup after a verb meant “a great quantity”: the ewes menge[nt] beaucoup au mois de juing.^[2] Beaucoup de with a noun appears at the end of the 14th century in Froissart, and the adverb is recorded in 1465.^[2][3] In Louisiana French beaucoup also means “very”, and English has borrowed the word in slang (boocoo).^[1][8]

Timeline

• 13th century – Biau cop “a fine thing”, in Joinville.^[2]
• 1379 – “A great quantity”, in Jean de Brie.^[2]
• Late 14th century – Beaucoup de in Froissart.^[2]
• 1465 – Adverb belcop.^[2][3]
• 16th century – Replaces moult.^[4][3]

Meanings

Adverb

1. A lot, much: Il pleut beaucoup, aimer beaucoup.^[4][1]
2. Beaucoup de: many, much, a lot of: beaucoup de gens.^[9][1]
3. As a pronoun: many people, many things: Beaucoup pensent que…^[9]
4. With a comparative: much, far: beaucoup plus, beaucoup trop, de beaucoup, by far.^[4][9]
5. Merci beaucoup: thank you very much.^[4]
6. (Louisiana) Very.^[1]

Related words

• beau
• coup
• moult

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h 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 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. 2, 868b
6. ^ a b c d Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
7. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
9. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert