brasier

Forms

brasier m (plural brasiers)^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from French braise + -ier, with a change of the root vowel (apophony);^[2][3][4] Rey notes that the stem is that of the Old French form breze.^[5] That word is itself probably of Gothic origin, since West Germanic did not have it; compare Swedish brasa (“to roast”) and Old Norse brass (“cook”).^[6][7]

Compare Spanish brasero.^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found between 1130 and 1160, in the Couronnement de Louis, for a fire of glowing coals.^[2][5]

Semantic evolution

By extension it came to mean any big fire or blaze.^[5][2] Corneille used it figuratively for ardour or passion in 1637,^[2][5] and Furetière (1690) records son corps est un brasier ardent for a high fever, a phrase now replaced by metaphorical uses.^[2][5][8] Littré also gives it for a large metal pan holding embers, used to heat a room.^[8]

Timeline

• 1130–1160 – Brasier appears in the Couronnement de Louis.^[2]
• 15th century – Villon writes of a canon sitting by a brasier.^[8]
• 1637 – Corneille uses it figuratively for passion.^[2]
• 1690 – Furetière records son corps est un brasier ardent.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A fire of glowing embers.^[2][9][8]
2. A large fire, a blaze or inferno.^[2][4][1]
3. (figurative, literary) The heat of a battle, of passion or of fever.^[9][2]
4. (dated) A brazier, a metal pan of embers used to heat a room.^[8]

Related words

• braise
• braiser
• brasiller
• embraser

Usage notes

Littré notes that the final ⟨r⟩ is never sounded in liaison, while the plural ⟨s⟩ is.^[8]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k 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. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b c d e Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
7. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 15/1, 255a
8. ^ a b c d e f g Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
9. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse