bile

Forms

bile f (uncountable)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin bīlis (“bile, gall; anger”),^{[2][3][4][1][5]} a learned word of Renaissance medicine, like bilieux (1537) from biliōsus.^[2][3] In popular Latin the word was supplanted by fel, the source of fiel.^[3][2] Rey notes that the Latin word has correspondents only in Brittonic.^[2] Littré adds that Old French used cole or chole, from Ancient Greek χολή (kholḗ, “bile”).^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded in 1539, in Jean Canappe, for the liquid secreted by the liver.^[5][4][2]

Semantic evolution

The Latin word already had the figurative sense “bitterness, anger”, from the ancient theory of the four humours (yellow bile, black bile, blood and phlegm) set out by Hippocrates.^[2] In the old medicine yellow bile was thought to cause anger and black bile melancholy, the sense kept in atrabile.^[2][7] Though doctors gave up the theory of humours in the 18th century, bile kept the sense “anger” in échauffer la bile (1668), now dated,^[2][8] and the phrase décharger sa bile “to vent one's anger” is found as early as 1538.^[9][7] The phrase se faire de la bile “to worry”, still common, especially in the negative, goes back to black bile and sadness, so that bile now means “worry” in familiar use.^[2][8]

Timeline

• 1537 – Bilieux is borrowed from Latin.^[2][3]
• 1538 – Décharger sa bile is recorded in Estienne.^[9]
• 1539 – Bile appears in Jean Canappe.^[5]
• 1668 – Échauffer la bile “to make angry” is recorded.^[2]
• 1687 – The derivative biliaire appears.^[2][3]
• 1894 – The verb se biler “to worry” appears.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. Bile, the bitter yellowish fluid secreted by the liver and stored in the gall bladder, which helps digestion.^[8][10][7]
2. (old medicine) Bile noire: black bile, the humour believed to cause melancholy, see atrabile.^[7][8]
3. (figurative, dated) Anger, ill humour: échauffer la bile, décharger sa bile.^[10][5][7]
4. (familiar) Se faire de la bile: to worry.^[10][8][2]

Word family

• biliaire
• biler
• bileux

Related words

• bilieux
• atrabile
• fiel
• Latin bīlis

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ a b c d e Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
4. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
6. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
7. ^ a b c d e 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
8. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ a b Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
10. ^ a b c Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)