billard

Forms

billard m (plural billards)^[1]

Etymology

It is from French bille “piece of wood, curved stick”, first recorded in 1399, and was later influenced by its homonym meaning “ball”.^[2][3][4][5] The Grand Robert also brings in the verb biller “to go zigzag”.^[3] The noun for a piece of wood is from Medieval Latin billa, which Bloch and Wartburg trace to Gaulish *bilia (“tree trunk”), comparing Irish bile of the same sense.^[5] Littré cites a Burgundian word of the same form meaning “lame”, from the stick of those who limp.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

It first named a curved stick for pushing the balls in games of bowls or billes.^[2][3][4] In the 15th century Villon writes of un billard de quoi on crosse, a stick to strike with.^[6] The Anglo-Norman record, from 1379, is a stick used in ball games, found as a surname.^[7]

Semantic evolution

By metonymy the word became the name of the game itself (1558), in which the stick came to be called the queue.^[2] It was then used for the table (1680) and for the room where it stands (1752).^[2] The GLLF dates the change to the late 15th century, when the stem was felt to be that of bille “ball”.^[4]

Metaphorically it meant flat, easy ground (1896), hence c'est du billard “it's plain sailing” (1914), and the operating table, as in passer sur le billard.^[2][1] The old sense “stick” survives in the familiar dévisser son billard “to die” (1859).^[2] English billiards was taken from the word in the 1590s.^[8]

Timeline

• 1399 – First record, for a curved stick.^[4][3]
• 1558 – Used for the game.^[2]
• 1590s – English borrows it as billiards.^[8]
• 1680 – Used for the billiard table.^[2]
• 1704 – The verb billarder “to play billiards” is recorded.^[2]
• 1752 – Used for the billiard room.^[2]
• 1859 – Dévisser son billard “to die”.^[2]
• 1914 – C'est du billard “it's easy”.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. billiards, a game in which balls are struck with a cue across a cloth-covered table: faire une partie de billard.^[9][10]
2. The billiard table itself.^[10][6]
3. The room where billiards is played.^[6][2]
4. Related games: billard américain, billard japonais, billard russe, billard électrique “pinball”.^[9][11]
5. (familiar) The operating table: passer sur le billard “to have an operation”.^[2][1]
6. (familiar) C'est du billard: it is very easy, said first of a smooth, flat road.^[2]
7. (historical) A curved stick used to push the balls, and a billiard cue.^[6][4]

Word family

• billarder
• billardier

Related words

• bille
• English billiards

Usage notes

Dévisser son billard and décoller son billard are slang for “to die”.^[2][12] Littré prescribed the pronunciation with a palatal ⟨ll⟩, not /bi-yar/.^[6]

References

1. ^ a b c d 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ a b c d Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d e Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
5. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
6. ^ a b c d e f Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
7. ^ Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
8. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
9. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
10. ^ a b Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
11. ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
12. ^ Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF