buveur

Forms

buveur m (plural buveurs, feminine buveuse)^[1] Old French beveor (oblique) and bevere (subject case), later buveor;^[2][3][4] beuveur was still a usual spelling in the 17th century.^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French beveor, inherited from Latin bibitor (“drinker”), according to Littré, the GLLF and the FEW;^[2][5][6] Littré explains the Old French subject form bevere from the Latin nominative with a shifted stress, and the oblique form from the accusative bibitōrem, which gave beveur, beuveur and the modern form.^[2] Meyer-Lübke likewise lists the French word among the outcomes of the Latin noun.^[7] The Grand Robert, the Petit Robert and Picoche instead derive it from the stem buv- of boire, the labialized form of the older unstressed stem bev-, with the suffix -eur;^[4][8][9][1] Wiktionary gives both views.^[4][8][9][1] The Latin noun is from bibō (“to drink”).^[7][9]

Cognate with Occitan bevedor, Catalan bevedor, Spanish bebedor, Portuguese bebedor, Italian bevitore and Romanian băutor.^[7][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found as beveors between 1170 and 1200, of a person who drinks.^[3]

Semantic evolution

From early on the word mostly meant a person who drinks alcohol, often to excess: a 13th-century poem says that the best drinkers are in England.^[2] Buveur de vin is recorded in 1470, and the word is also used on its own (un grand buveur) for a heavy drinker.^[3][4]

It was also used of people taking the waters at a spa, a sense now gone.^[3][10] Figuratively a buveur de is someone who delights in something, and buveur de sang a bloodthirsty monster.^[10]

Timeline

• 1170–1200 – First recorded as beveors.^[3]
• Late 13th century – The form buveours appears.^[3]
• 1470 – Buveur de vin is recorded, and the modern form buveur.^[3][4]
• 17th century – Beuveur is still a usual spelling.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. A person who drinks wine or alcoholic drinks, especially habitually or to excess: un buveur invétéré.^[8][11][10]
2. A person who drinks a given drink: buveur d'eau (one who drinks only water), une grande buveuse de café.^[10][8][2]
3. A person drinking at a café or bar, a customer.^[8][5]
4. (dated) A person taking the waters at a spa.^[10][5][3]
5. (figurative) A person who delights in something, buveur de sang: a bloodthirsty brute.^[10]

Related words

• boire
• beuverie
• buvette
• buvable
• Latin bibitor

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d e f Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 1, 351b
7. ^ a b c Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
8. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ a b c Picoche, Jacqueline (1991), Dictionnaire étymologique du français, Paris: Le Robert (Les Usuels du Robert)
10. ^ a b c d e f 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
11. ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)