brique

Forms

brique f (plural briques)^[1] Old French brike (1204) and, in the 13th century, briche;^[2][3] Middle French bricque (15th century), then brique from 1508.^[2][3]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Middle Dutch bricke,^{[2][3][4][5][6][7]} a word first used in the north of France and confirmed by the importance of brickworks and brick houses in the Low Countries and Flanders.^[2] The Dutch word is probably related to breken (“to break”),^[2][1] like German brechen and English break,^[2][3][5] the first French sense being “piece, fragment”.^[2][3] Wiktionary also names Middle Low German bricke as a source.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded in 1204 as brike, for a gaming disc, and more generally meant “piece, crumb” until the 16th century.^[2][4][3] In the 13th century briche “a little bit” strengthened a negation, like mie: nul assaut ne doutent la briche “they fear no assault in the least”.^[8][2]

Semantic evolution

The building sense, a block of clay hardened by fire, is found at Tournai in 1292.^[2] From 1611 it was used of other materials moulded in that shape, such as soap or metal,^[2][5] and brique à pont (1867) is the sandstone used to scrub a ship's deck.^[2] The colour sense appears in couleur brique (1817), and the word is now used as an invariable adjective.^[2][5]

The old sense “piece” lives on in dialects of the Centre, the East and Switzerland, where pas une brique means “nothing at all”; it explains bouffer des briques “to have nothing to eat” (1878).^[2][6] The familiar sense “wad of banknotes” (1926) and then “a million (old) francs” (1946) revives the old value “piece of money”,^[2][5] and since the euro it can mean a million euros.^[2] About 1950 it came to name a carton for liquids such as milk.^[2][1]

Timeline

• 1204 – Brike “gaming disc” is first recorded.^[2][4]
• 13th century – The form briche “a little bit” reinforces negations.^[2][8]
• 1292 – It means a building brick at Tournai.^[2]
• 1394 – Briquetage “brickwork” appears.^[3]
• 1407 – Briqueterie “brickworks” is recorded.^[3]
• 1508 – The spelling brique is established.^[2]
• 1611 – It is used of other materials moulded in brick shape.^[2]
• 1743 – Briquet “fire striker” appears.^[3]
• 1878 – Bouffer des briques is recorded.^[2]
• 1946 – It means a million francs.^[2]
• c. 1950 – It names a drinks carton.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A brick, a block of clay moulded and fired or dried, used in building; also brick as a material: Ils habitent une maison en brique rouge.^[6][9][5]
2. A block of another material moulded in that shape: Une brique de glace à la vanille.^[6][5][8]
3. A carton for liquids, especially foods and drinks.^[1][2]
4. (slang, dated) Ten thousand new francs (a million old francs).^[5][1][2]
5. Bouffer des briques (familiar): to have nothing to eat.^[6][5][2]

Adjective

1. (invariable) Brick-red, reddish brown: Des rideaux brique.^[9][10][5]

Word family

• briquetage
• briqueter
• briqueterie
• briquetier
• briquette
• briquet

Related words

• bricheton

Usage notes

In Belgium avoir une brique dans le ventre means to be keen on building a house of one's own,^[2][1] and Quebec French says brique à feu for a firebrick.^[2]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h 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 u v w x y z 27 28 29 30 Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
4. ^ a b c Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
6. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 15/1, 276a
8. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
9. ^ a b Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
10. ^ Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)