bord
Pronunciation
- IPA: /bɔʁ/[1]
Forms
bord m (plural bords)[1] Old French bort, still written so in the 16th century.[2][3]
Etymology
It is inherited from Old French bort, borrowed from Frankish *bord (“side of a ship”).[4][5][3][6] The Frankish word is reconstructed from Old Norse borð (“edge; the upper side of a ship”) and related to Old Saxon bord, Old English bord, Dutch boord and Old High German bort.[5] The Frankish word for a plank, behind borde and bordel, came into French separately; how the Germanic words are related is disputed, some tracing both to an Indo-European root Proto-Indo-European *bʰerdʰ- (“to cut”).[5][4][2]
Italian bordo and Spanish bordo come from Gallo-Romance.[4][7]
Earliest recorded meaning
Its first use (about 1121, Voyage of Saint Brendan) is nautical: bord de la nef, the side of the ship.[8][5]
Semantic evolution
In seafaring it is the upper edge of the planking and each side of the ship, whence bord à bord (before 1307) and virer de bord “to tack”, used figuratively for a complete change of course; by metonymy it is the ship itself, as in à bord (about 1500), later used of vehicles and aircraft, journal de bord and tableau de bord.[5][9] Être du même bord “to be on the same side” is of the 17th century.[5]
From about 1160 the word was applied to the edge of any surface: the rim of a well (1174–77), a river bank (before 1307), the brim of a hat (1680); au bord du précipice is figurative from 1670.[5] In Quebec French se virer de bord means to turn round and prendre le bord to leave in a hurry.[5]
Timeline
- c. 1121 – The side of a ship, in the Voyage of Saint Brendan.[8][5]
- c. 1160 – The edge of a surface.[5]
- Before 1307 – Bord à bord; a river bank.[5]
- c. 1500 – À bord.[5]
- 1670 – Au bord du précipice, figuratively.[5]
- 1680 – The brim of a hat.[5]
Meanings
Noun
- edge, border: the outer limit of a surface or object: le bord de la table.[1][10]
- The rim of a container or an opening: rempli jusqu'au bord.[10]
- shore, bank: the land along water: au bord de la mer, les bords de la Seine.[10][1]
- (nautical) The side of a ship; the ship itself: à bord, par-dessus bord, virer de bord.[8][11]
- Au bord de: on the verge of: au bord des larmes.[5][1]
- Sur les bords: slightly, a little (il est un peu menteur sur les bords).[1]
Word family
- aborder
- déborder
- bordage
- bordée
- border
- bordure
- bordereau
- plat-bord
- rebord
- transborder
Related words
- bâbord
- tribord
- borde
- English board
References
- ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
- ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
- ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
- ^ 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
- ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 15/1, 180a
- ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
- ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
- ^ 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
- ^ a b c Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
- ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)