broche

Forms

broche f (plural broches)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Vulgar Latin *brocca (“pointed thing”), the feminine of broccus (“projecting, of teeth”) used as a noun.^[2][3][4] Plautus used it for prominent teeth;^[2] Rey calls it a popular adjective with expressive doubling of the consonant for a deformity, of unclear origin, and mentions a hypothetical link with Old Irish brocc (“badger”).^[2] Wiktionary traces it ultimately to Gaulish, comparing Old Irish brog (“awl”).^[1]

Cognate with Italian brocco (“prickly twig”) and Old Occitan broca (“spit”).^[3] The verb brocher is recorded (1080, in the “Chanson de Roland”) a little earlier than the noun.^[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is recorded from 1121, for a pointed metal rod or spike.^[4][2] The cooking spit is attested in 1172–1175.^[2]

Semantic evolution

From a pointed rod the word spread in Old French to other pegs and pins: the spigot of a cask (c. 1271), later a knitting needle, the pin inside the bolt of a lock for a hollow key (1680), a spindle in spinning mills (1694), and in the 19th century a pin in surgery.^[2][5] From Middle French it also named a piece of jewellery with a long pin and a clasp (1332).^[2] In hunting, the plural broches are the tusks of a boar and the first antlers of a roebuck.^[2] In mountaineering it is a long piton.^[2][6]

In Canadian French broche means iron wire, staple and knitting needle, and broche à foin is used figuratively for something makeshift.^[2] The English brooch (early 13th century) is from Old French broche “long needle”; the specialised sense led to a separate spelling in the 14th century.^[7]

Timeline

• 1121 – First record of broche.^[4][2]
• 1172–1175 – The roasting spit.^[2]
• Early 13th century – English brooch is recorded, from Old French.^[7]
• 1260 – The derivative brochet “pike”, named for its pointed snout.^[3]
• c. 1271 – The peg stopping a cask.^[2]
• 1332 – A jewel with a long pin and clasp.^[2]
• 1680 – The pin of a lock.^[2]
• 1694 – A spindle in spinning.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A spit, a pointed iron rod on which meat or poultry is roasted: poulet à la broche.^[8][5]
2. A brooch, a jewel fastened with a pin.^[5][1]
3. A spindle holding a bobbin on a spinning machine.^[8][5]
4. A rod or peg on which things are threaded, and a metal pin used in bone surgery.^[8][2]
5. (dated, regional) A long knitting needle.^[5]
6. (mountaineering) A long piton for ice or rock.^[2][6]
7. (Quebec) Iron wire, a staple.^[2]

Word family

• brochure
• brocher
• brochet
• brochette
• embrocher

Related words

• Latin broccus
• English brooch

Usage notes

The phrase il n'y en a pas plus que de beurre en broche means there is none at all.^[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 l m n o p q r s t Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ a b c d 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 Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
6. ^ a b Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
7. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
8. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert