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besicles

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Etymology and origin of the French word besicles

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1379 inventory of Charles V More words from the 14th century
From
Middle French bericle
Ultimate origin
Latin beryllus

Pronunciation

Forms

besicles f pl (plural only)[1] Also spelled bésicles, pronounced /be.zikl/ or /bə.zikl/.[2][3] Middle French bericle (1328), bezicle, besicle in the singular, and beusicles in Villon.[4][5][6]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle French bericle (“lens, spectacles”), altered to bezicle.[4][7][2] The Middle French word for spectacles (1328) was a metonymic use of Old French bericle (“beryl”) (12th century), a form of beril, from Latin beryllus; the precious stone béryl was used to make lenses and magnifying glasses until the 16th century.[4][7][8][9]

Bloch and Wartburg and the GLLF explain the form with ⟨-icle⟩ as the stone's name reshaped after the ending of escarboucle.[7][8] For the change of /r/ to /z/, Bloch and Wartburg and Littré compare chaise beside chaire, Littré calling it a Parisian habit of pronunciation;[7][5] the Grand Robert sees the influence of the prefix bis-, from Latin bis (“twice”).[2] Littré rejects the old explanations from “double circle” or “double eye”, which the early form with ⟨r⟩ rules out.[5]

The same shift from the stone to the glasses is seen in Old Spanish beril “spectacles” and German Brille.[4][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Bericle meant a lens or spectacles in 1328, in the inventory of Clémence of Hungary.[8][4] The form with ⟨z⟩ appears in 1379: ung bezicle en une queue d'or “a lens on a gold handle”.[7][5]

Semantic evolution

At first the word was singular, meaning a lens or spectacles, and either feminine or masculine (1399); the plural is found from 1555.[4][2] Pasquier in the 16th century explains besicle as what was otherwise called lunettes.[10][5]

In the 17th century it lost ground to lunettes and was called “burlesque” (1680), then “familiar” by the Académie from 1718 to 1878; it is now archaic or humorous.[4][11] Expressions such as mettez vos besicles and à grand renfort de besicles are used ironically for looking closely or taking care.[11] Littré also records it for masks with glass eyes used in some trades.[5]

Timeline

  • 12th century – Old French bericle names the beryl.[7][4]
  • 1328 – Bericle “spectacles” in the inventory of Clémence of Hungary.[8][4]
  • 1379 – Ung bezicle en une queue d'or.[7][5]
  • 1555 – First recorded in the plural.[2][4]
  • 1680 – Labelled burlesque.[4]
  • 1718 – The Académie calls it familiar.[4]
  • 1949 – bésiclard is recorded.[4][11]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (dated or humorous) spectacles, especially large old-fashioned round ones: il chaussa ses besicles.[3][11][8]
  2. (obsolete) In some trades, a mask fitted with glass eyes.[5]

Word family

  • bésiclard

Usage notes

The word is used only in the plural, and is now ironic or humorous.[11][4][8] The derivative bésiclard “person who wears glasses”, formed like binoclard, is hardly used.[4][11]

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  3. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  6. ^ Dictionnaire du Moyen Français, version 2015 (DMF 2015), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/dmf
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  8. ^ a b c d e f Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  9. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 1, 339a
  10. ^ 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
  11. ^ a b c d e f 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
Cite this entry

“Besicles.” Etymologically, 15 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/besicles. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

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