bousculer

Forms

bousculer^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from French bousser (“to knock”) + culer (“to move backwards”), joining verbs of similar meaning, according to the DHLF and the Grand Robert.^[2][3][4] The first verb (1416), widely found in Lorraine and in Franco-Provençal, is from Middle High German bôzen (“to strike, knock”), which matches the Frankish verb behind bouter.^[2][3] The second (1482) is from cul, itself from Latin cūlus, and is also the second part of basculer.^[2][5]

Littré, the GLLF and Picoche instead see an alteration of Old French bouteculer (13th century), literally “to push at the backside”, perhaps altered under the influence of ⟨basculer⟩;^[6][7][5] Littré points to the 15th-century form ⟨bousser⟩ for ⟨bouter⟩.^[6][7][5] The DHLF rejects this: the Old French verb meant “to search by turning over” and comes from boutecul, a 13th-century insulting nickname.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is recorded by the Académie in 1798, for upsetting things and pushing them about.^[7][2]

Semantic evolution

Close in meaning to culbuter, the verb expresses turning things upside down and pushing in all directions.^[2] It was used in military language for defeating an army (1833) and, familiarly, in an erotic sense like renverser.^[2] Applied to the mind, it came to mean “to treat roughly, harass” (1852), and today also “to hurry someone”.^[2][4]

The derivative bousculade (1848) is common;^[2] bousculement (1838) and bousculeur (1872) are rarer.^[2] In Canadian French bouscueil (recorded 1928) names the movement of ice pushed by wind, current or tide, especially during the spring breakup.^[2]

Timeline

• 1416 – Middle French bousser “to knock” is recorded.^[2]
• 1482 – Culer “to move backwards” is recorded.^[2]
• 1798 – The Académie records bousculer.^[7][2]
• 1833 – Military sense “to rout an army”.^[2]
• 1848 – Bousculade appears.^[2]
• 1852 – Sense “to treat roughly”.^[2]
• 1928 – Canadian bouscueil is recorded.^[2]

Meanings

Verb

1. To throw into disorder by pushing or knocking over;^[4][8] (figurative) to upset (traditions, ideas): Le chat a bousculé les papiers sur le bureau.^[4][8]
2. To jostle, shove or bump into someone, often by accident.^[4][1][7] Se bousculer: to push one another, as a crowd does.^[4]
3. To hurry someone, to rush them.^[4] Être bousculé: to have too much to do in too little time.^[4]
4. (military) To drive back or defeat (an enemy).^[2][8]

Word family

• bousculade
• bousculement

Related words

• bouter
• cul
• culer
• basculer
• culbuter

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 Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d e f g h Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b c Picoche, Jacqueline (1991), Dictionnaire étymologique du français, Paris: Le Robert (Les Usuels du Robert)
6. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
7. ^ a b c d e Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
8. ^ a b c 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