brachial

Forms

brachial (feminine brachiale, masculine plural brachiaux, feminine plural brachiales)^[1]

Etymology

It is a learned borrowing, borrowed from Latin bracchiālis (“of the arm”), from bracchium (“arm”),^[2][3][1] the Latin word that gave the inherited bras.^[3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The GLLF and the Grand Robert date it to 1541, in the work of the surgeon Jean Canappe.^[5][6] Bloch and Wartburg date it to Ambroise Paré in the 16th century;^[4] Littré quotes Paré's le brachial tant interne qu'externe for a muscle of the arm.^[7]

Semantic evolution

It has stayed a term of anatomy, meaning “of the arm”.^[3][2] It has been used as a noun since 1732, for the sensory nerve of the arm,^[3] and as a noun it also names muscles of the arm, brachial antérieur and brachial postérieur.^[5][8]

Timeline

• 1541 – First record, in Jean Canappe.^[5][6]
• 16th century – Paré speaks of the muscles brachiaux.^[7][4]
• 1732 – First use as a noun, for a nerve of the arm.^[3]

Meanings

Adjective

1. (anatomy) brachial, of or relating to the arm: artère brachiale, plexus brachial, triceps brachial.^[2][9][7]

Noun

1. (anatomy) Brachial antérieur: a muscle of the arm, lying behind the biceps.^[2][8]
2. (anatomy) Brachial cutané interne: a sensory nerve of the arm and forearm.^[2][8]

Related words

• bras
• brachialgie
• Latin bracchium

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
5. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
6. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ a b c Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
9. ^ Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert