caïeu

Forms

caïeu m (plural caïeux)^[1] Also spelled cayeu, the spelling of the Académie from 1694 to 1740;^[2] caïeu is its spelling from 1762.^[2]

Etymology

It is a Norman word, the same as inherited from Old French caiel (“puppy”), the Norman-Picard form of chael, inherited from Latin catellus (“little dog, puppy”).^[2][3][4] The animal word was used figuratively for an offshoot, first of an animal and then of a plant, a common metaphor.^[4][5] The Old French word named the young of all kinds of animals.^[2] Bloch and Wartburg call the word Picard and point to the market gardens on the Somme; the Grand Robert calls it Norman-Picard.^[5][6]

The Latin word is a variant of catulus (“puppy, cub”);^[4] Rey compares Umbrian katel of the same meaning.^[4] The same Latin word gave chiot through a dialect of the Centre or the West.^[5] Littré, lacking any intermediate form, called the origin unknown and suggested an altered pronunciation of an old form of caillou “pebble”.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded in the plural cayeux in David Ferrand's Muse normande (1625–1651); in 1651 Nicolas de Bonnefons's Jardinier françois speaks of a plant that keeps growing through the cayeux it puts out in abundance.^[2]

Semantic evolution

The word has always been a gardening and botanical term for the small bud that forms at the base of a bulb's scales and becomes the replacement bulb.^[4][2] From 1835 to 1932 the Académie also used it of the flower that grows from such an offset.^[2]

Timeline

• 1625–1651 – The Norman plural cayeux appears in David Ferrand's Muse normande.^[2]
• 1651 – Nicolas de Bonnefons uses it in the Jardinier françois.^[2][5]
• 1694 – The Académie records it as cayeu.^[2]
• 1762 – The Académie adopts the spelling caïeu.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. (botany) An offset bulb: a small bulblet that develops on or beside the bulb of a plant such as the tulip, garlic or gladiolus, and can grow into a new plant.^[8][2][9]
2. (dated) A flower grown from such an offset.^[2]

Related words

• chiot
• Latin catellus (“puppy”)

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m 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
3. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 2, 497b
4. ^ a b c d e Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b c d Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
6. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse