buis

Forms

buis m (invariable)^[1] Old French usually bois or bouis (13th to 15th century), still found in 1718.^[2][3] Middle French spellings include buix (1360) and bouys (1471).^[4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Latin buxus (“box tree; boxwood”).^[2][3][1][5] The expected French outcome was bois, recorded from the 13th to the 15th century.^[2][3] Rey explains the ⟨ui⟩ of the form ⟨buis⟩, which is the earlier one on record, by a closing of the vowel under the influence of the following /j/, perhaps helped by buisson; it may also come from the adjective buxeus (“of boxwood”).^[2] The Grand Robert prefers the adjective, while Bloch and Wartburg think it was probably remade on that noun.^[4][3]

The origin of the Latin word is disputed.^[2][1] Rey and Bloch and Wartburg derive it from Ancient Greek πύξος (púxos, “box tree”), Rey suggesting that the change of /p/ to /b/ may point to Etruscan transmission; he also reports Chantraine's view that the Latin and Greek words could be parallel borrowings from a language of Asia Minor.^[2][3] Wiktionary holds the Greek word to be a cognate rather than the source, since the tree grew in Italy, and suggests that both come from a substrate language of Italy.^[1]

Cognate with Italian bosso, Old Occitan bois, Catalan box and Portuguese buxo.^[3][6][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is recorded from 1160–1170, naming first the yellow wood of the shrub.^[2][4] In the 13th century the Livre des métiers forbids table-makers to make writing tablets with one leaf of box and the other of another wood.^[7]

Semantic evolution

The word first named the yellow wood of the box tree, used in cabinet-making and for many technical purposes.^[2] From 1680 it named in particular a shoemaker's tool for polishing heels and soles.^[2][8] In everyday use it also has the original Latin sense, the shrub itself, which religion uses in buis bénit, the sprig of box blessed on Palm Sunday.^[2][9][10]

In several dialects the shrub is named after this use: a derivative of Pâques in Walloon and hosanna in Poitou.^[3] The regional verb buiser “to decorate with sprigs of box” (1473) recalls the same custom.^[2]

Timeline

• 1160–1170 – First record of buis.^[2][4]
• 13th century – The Livre des métiers mentions tablets of box.^[7]
• 1360 – The spelling buix.^[4]
• 1471 – The spelling bouys.^[4]
• 1473 – Bouysser “to decorate with box” is recorded.^[2]
• 1525 – Buis in Thenaud, the GLLF's and the Petit Robert's first date.^[8][9]
• 1680 – A shoemaker's boxwood polishing tool.^[2]
• 1718 – The form bois is still found.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. Box, an evergreen shrub with small glossy leaves, grown in borders and clipped into ornamental shapes.^[9][10] Buis bénit: a sprig of box blessed on Palm Sunday.^[9][10][8]
2. Boxwood, the dense, hard, yellowish wood of this shrub, used in turning, carving and engraving.^[9][10][11]
3. (shoemaking) A boxwood tool for polishing soles and heels.^[8][2]

Related words

• boîte
• boussole
• Latin buxus

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o 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 f Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 1, 666a
6. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
7. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
9. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
10. ^ a b c d Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
11. ^ 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