bonbon

Forms

bonbon m (plural bonbons)^[1]

Etymology

It is a childish reduplication from French bon (“good”).^{[2][3][4][5][6][1][7]} The adjective goes back to Latin bonus (“good”).^[2][8] Wiktionary compares the English word goodies.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in 1604, as du bonbon, in the journal kept by Jean Héroard, the physician of the dauphin, the future Louis XIII;^[2][5][4] Oudin records it in 1640.^[2][5][4] It was a word of children's language for anything good to eat.^[5][4]

Semantic evolution

From a nursery word for anything nice to eat, bonbon became the usual name of a small sugar sweet; it was at first used in the partitive, du bonbon, which survived into the 19th century, and the countable un bonbon, des bonbons goes with the modern sense.^[5][4] Outside France the word means a dry biscuit in Belgium and the former Belgian colonies, a cake or fritter in the French of the Indian Ocean, and a large cake cut into slices in the Antilles.^[5][9]

By metaphor it named a boil or pustule at the end of the 19th century.^[5] In the plural les bonbons became a familiar word for the testicles, especially in casser les bonbons “to bore, annoy”, and the adverbial ça coûte bonbon means “it costs a lot”.^[5][9] English took the word as bonbon in 1796.^[8]

Timeline

• 1604 – Du bonbon appears in Jean Héroard's journal.^[2][5]
• 1640 – Oudin records the word.^[5]
• 1777–1783 – The derivative bonbonnière “sweet box” appears.^[5]
• 1796 – English borrows bonbon.^[8]
• Late 19th century – It is used for a boil or pustule.^[5]

Meanings

Noun

1. A sweet, a candy: a small confection of flavoured, often coloured sugar: un bonbon au citron.^[9][10][1]
2. (dated) In children's speech, any treat: du bonbon.^[4][10]
3. (Belgium) A dry biscuit.^[9][5]
4. (familiar, plural) The testicles: casser les bonbons “to annoy”.^[9][5]
5. Coûter bonbon (familiar): to cost a great deal.^[9][5]
6. Rose bonbon: a strong pink.^[10]

Word family

• bonbonnière
• bonbonnerie

Related words

• bon
• Latin bonus
• English bonbon

Usage notes

Although French writes ⟨m⟩ before ⟨b⟩ and ⟨p⟩, bonbon and the other words formed from bon (bonbonnière, embonpoint) keep ⟨n⟩.^[1]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
3. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d e f Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
5. ^ 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
6. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
7. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 1, 434b
8. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
9. ^ a b c d e f Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
10. ^ a b c Académie française (1992–2024), Dictionnaire de l'Académie française, 9th ed., Paris: Académie française / Fayard / Imprimerie nationale