Etymologically
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but

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Pronunciation

Forms

but m (plural buts)[1]

Etymology

The origin is doubtful.[2][3] The TLFi, Rey and Bloch–Wartburg favour borrowed from Old Norse bútr (“log, block of wood”), a piece of wood having probably served as a target in archery; the spread of the word and its derivatives in Normandy supports a Norse source.[4][2][5][6] Rey compares Middle High German butze (“clod”), English butt (“log, stump”) and Dutch bot.[2] The Grand Robert, the Petit Robert and the GLLF prefer Frankish *but (“stump, block”), which the TLFi and Rey reject on phonetic grounds.[7][8][3][4][2] Littré and Pierre Guiraud see in it another form of bout, Guiraud through the older feminine butte “place to be reached” (1225).[9][2][7] Wiktionary traces both Germanic forms to Proto-Germanic *buttaz (“end, piece”).[1]

The word is known indirectly in the late 12th century through its derivatives, such as Old French a rebutons (“wrongly”) (about 1180).[4][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

A cartulary of 1245 has but a but “without restriction”, later “with no advantage on either side”, of an exchange (1312) or a game.[4][2]

Semantic evolution

The word was rare before the 16th century.[2] It then spread with the concrete sense “point aimed at, target” (1534 according to Rey, 1552 in Rabelais according to the TLFi), the extended sense “end, limit” (1538, Marot) and the figurative sense “aim, purpose in life” (1552, Rabelais, Montaigne: l'ame qui n'a point de but estably).[2][4][9]

De but en blanc (1660, Molière) comes from gunnery: the but was the place from which one fired and the blanc the centre of the target, hence “point-blank”, then “abruptly, without preparation”.[5][4][2] In sport but is the goal and, from the early 20th century, a goal scored (marquer un but).[10][8] The final /t/, now usual, was condemned by Littré.[9][4]

Timeline

  • c. 1180 – The derivative a rebutons.[4]
  • 1245 – But a but.[4]
  • 1538 – “End, limit”, Marot.[4]
  • 1552 – “Target” and “purpose”, Rabelais.[4]
  • 1660 – De but en blanc, Molière.[4]
  • 1666 – Toucher au but, Molière.[4]
  • 1922 – A goal in sport, according to the FEW.[10]

Meanings

Noun

  1. An aim, purpose: dans le but de, atteindre son but, aller droit au but.[8][1]
  2. A destination, end point: le but d'une promenade.[8]
  3. A target, the mark aimed at, (bowls) the jack.[8][3]
  4. (sport) The goal: gardien de but; a goal scored: marquer un but.[1][8]
  5. De but en blanc: point-blank, abruptly.[8][4]

Word family

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 Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  3. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n 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
  5. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 15/2, 34a
  7. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  8. ^ a b c d e f g Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  9. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  10. ^ a b Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF