brimer

Forms

brimer^[1]

Etymology

The word came into general French through military and school slang, and is of dialect origin.^[2][3] In the dialect of Maine the verb means “to beat, to torment”, which seems to be a figurative use of a western dialect verb of the same form, “to freeze, to blight (fruit)”, from French brime (“hoarfrost, a cold wind that withers fruit”).^[2][3][4][5] That noun, recorded from the early 18th century, is probably brume (“mist”) altered under the influence of frimas (“hoarfrost”) .^[3][2][1] The REW likewise lists Norman brim (“fog”) and Lyonnais brima (“hoarfrost”) under Latin brūma crossed with the same word.^[6]

P. Guiraud proposed instead that the figurative sense “to beat” comes from a word brim (“whiplash”), which he took to be the original form of brin in the sense “switch, rod”.^[2][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Gaston Esnault dates the slang sense from 1826;^[7][4][3][2] Bloch and Wartburg give 1853.^[7][4][3][2] It was first a word of the military schools, Saint-Cyr among them, for older pupils who mocked and played tricks on new recruits and new pupils.^[2][8]

Semantic evolution

Rey thinks the word is probably older than its first records, as its derivative brimade is dated 1818.^[2] By extension it passed into common use for subjecting someone to vexing and pointless constraints, before 1866.^[2][7]

The past participle brimé kept the dialect sense in the wine-growers' use for grapes marked with spots (1838).^[2] The derivative brimade is dated 1818 by Rey and 1862 by Bloch and Wartburg.^[2][3]

Timeline

• Early 18th century – The dialect noun brime “hoarfrost” is recorded.^[3]
• 1818 – The derivative brimade appears.^[2]
• 1826 – Esnault's first record of brimer in its slang sense.^[7][4]
• 1838 – Brimé is used of spotted grapes.^[2]
• 1853 – Bloch and Wartburg's date for the military slang word.^[3]
• Before 1866 – It is used generally for “to vex, to constrain”.^[2]

Meanings

Verb

1. (military and school slang) To haze new recruits or new pupils, subjecting them to trying or humiliating ordeals.^[9][7][10]
2. To bully or mistreat a fellow pupil or colleague.^[7][1]
3. To subject someone to pointless, unjust vexations and constraints, to thwart: elle se sent brimée par ses chefs.^[9][5][7]
4. Of an abstract thing: to constrain or hold back.^[9]

Word family

• brimade

Related words

• brume
• frimas

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 l m n Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
4. ^ a b c d e Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter, p. 1335
7. ^ a b c d e f g Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
8. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
9. ^ 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
10. ^ Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)