boulon

Forms

boulon m (plural boulons)^[1] Old and Middle French boullon, bouillon and bullon.^[2][3] Anglo-Norman bolyon.^[4]

Etymology

It is formed from French boule + -on,^[2][1][5][6] first meaning a small round mass.^[2][5][7] Its base comes from Latin bulla (“bubble”), which took the sense “ball” in Gallo-Romance.^[6] The fastening sense is a narrowing of the first one to fixing pieces with a round head;^[2][7] Littré likewise explains the name by the bolt's ball-shaped head.^[3] Medieval Latin had bolinus in the sense “small round mass” from 1295.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found as boullon in the 13th century, for a small ball,^[2][5][8] and in 1360 as bouillon “small round mass” in the inventory of Louis of Anjou.^[2]

Semantic evolution

From 1319–1327 the word named a fixing or assembly piece with a round head.^[2][7] It also named an ornamental boss: in the Anglo-Norman of 1396–1404,^[4] and in a 15th-century inventory of a Bible whose boards carried cinq bullons de cuivre dorés (“five gilt copper bosses”).^[3][7] The fixing sense was then extended to any piece screwed onto a rod, whatever its shape, and the link with boule was forgotten.^[7] The modern bolt is a threaded rod with a head at one end and a nut at the other.^[2][9]

In the 19th century it also named a round iron mould for lead pipes and a part of the weaver's loom.^[2][3] In popular speech visser des boulons means working on an assembly line,^[9] and the figurative resserrer les boulons, to restore control by firmer organization, is recent.^[7][8]

Timeline

• 13th century – Boullon “small ball” is recorded.^[2][5]
• 1295 – Medieval Latin bolinus “small round mass” appears.^[2]
• 1319–1327 – First used for a fixing or assembly piece.^[2][7]
• 1360 – Bouillon “small round mass” in the inventory of Louis of Anjou.^[2]
• 1396–1404 – Anglo-Norman boulon “ornamental boss”.^[4]
• 1425 – The verb boulonner appears, first meaning “to decorate with bosses”.^[6][7]
• 1842 – The Académie's supplement records the mould and loom senses.^[2]
• 1866 – Boulonnerie and boulonnier are recorded.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A bolt: a threaded metal rod with a head, used with a nut to join pieces of wood or metal.^[8][2][9]
2. Boulon d'ancrage: an anchor bolt fixed in masonry.^[8][2]
3. (bookbinding) A nail used by bookbinders.^[2][3]
4. (obsolete) A round iron mould for making lead pipes, also a part of a weaver's loom.^[2][3]
5. (figurative) Serrer or resserrer les boulons: to take a situation firmly in hand by stricter organization.^[8][7]

Word family

• boulonner
• boulonnerie
• boulonnier
• déboulonner

Related words

• boule
• boulet
• Latin bulla

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 o p q r s t 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
3. ^ a b c d e f Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
4. ^ a b c Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
5. ^ a b c d Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
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 c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse