boucler

Forms

boucler^[1] Middle French bougler (1440), after the variant bougle of boucle; the form boucler is recorded from 1539.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is from French boucle (“buckle, ring; curl”) + -er.^{[4][5][6][2][1]} It was first written bougler (1440), after a variant bougle of the noun;^[2][3] the present spelling appears in 1539 in Robert Estienne.^[2][3] The TLFi treats the senses under two headwords, one for fastening with a buckle and one for taking the form of a bulge or a curl, both formed on the noun.^[4]

The noun goes back to Latin buccula (“little cheek”), a diminutive of bucca (“cheek, mouth”), which in Latin also meant the boss of a shield; from the boss the word passed to the ring beside it and then to any buckle.^[2][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded in 1440, in a report by Simon le Noir kept in the archives of Seine-Maritime, as a builders' term: of a structure, to bulge out like the boss of a shield.^[4][7][5]

Semantic evolution

The verb spread in the 16th century with the general idea of “to close, to fasten”, and, in the reflexive se boucler, “to come to an end”; at the same time it took the military sense “to surround completely with troops” (1556).^[7] In animal husbandry it meant to put a ring on a female animal to stop her being covered (1562).^[7][8]

The sense “to put (hair) in curls” is recorded by Richelet in 1680, and the intransitive “to curl” by the Académie in 1835.^[4][7] The sense “to close” then moved into familiar speech: “to close (a trunk, a room)” (1821), “to put in prison” (1831) and la boucler “to shut up” (1897), from boucler sa bavarde (1878).^[7] The sense “to finish off, wrap up (an affair)” is quoted by the TLFi from Töpffer in 1839.^[9]

Timeline

• 1440 – Bougler “to bulge” in a builders' report.^[4][3][2]
• 1539 – Robert Estienne records the form boucler.^[3][2]
• 1556 – “To surround with troops”.^[7]
• 1562 – Used for ringing a female animal.^[7]
• 1680 – Richelet records “to curl (hair)”.^[4][7]
• 1821 – “To close (a trunk, a room)”.^[7]
• 1831 – “To put in prison”.^[7]
• 1835 – The Académie records the intransitive “to curl”.^[4][7]
• 1839 – Töpffer uses it for “to wrap up, finish off”.^[9]
• 1878 – Boucler sa bavarde “to hold one's tongue”.^[7]
• 1897 – La boucler “to shut up”.^[7]

Meanings

Verb

1. To buckle, fasten with a buckle: Il boucla les sangles de son sac à dos.^[6][10][11]
2. Boucler sa valise, ses valises: to close one's bags; figuratively, to get ready to leave.^[6][10][3]
3. (familiar) To close, shut (a door, a shop): On boucle la boutique à midi.^[6][3]
4. (popular) La boucler: to shut up, keep quiet.^[6][3][7]
5. (familiar) To lock up; to put in prison.^[6][3]
6. (military) To cordon off, seal off (an area).^[3]
7. To put a ring in or on (an animal, a mare).^[6][3][8]
8. To curl (hair); intransitively, of hair, to curl.^[6][8][4]
9. To complete (a circuit or loop); boucler la boucle, to come full circle.^[6][1]
10. (figurative) To finish, wrap up (a deal, a budget, an edition of a newspaper).^[1][10]
11. (building) Of a wall, to bulge.^[4][11]

Word family

• bouclage
• reboucler

Related words

• boucle
• bouclier
• déboucler
• bouche
• Latin buccula

Usage notes

In Swiss French the verb is used for closing accounts, with the idea of the final result only, whether or not the accounts balance.^[7]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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
5. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ 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
8. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
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 Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
11. ^ a b Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)