cabrioler

Forms

cabrioler^[1] Also caprioler, from 1585 until the 17th century.^[2][3][4]

Etymology

It is formed from French cabriole + -er, and in the form caprioler from capriole, the older form of the noun.^[2][3][4][1] Bloch and Wartburg and the GLLF instead take it from Italian capriolare, itself from capriolo (“roe deer”), with its ⟨b⟩ from cabri;^[5][6][2] Rey objects that the Italian verb is not recorded before the 18th century.^[5][6][2]

The noun was borrowed from Italian capriola (“leap, caper”), originally “female roe deer”, from Late Latin capreola (“wild she-goat”), a derivative of capra (“goat”); its ⟨b⟩ probably comes from a crossing with cabrer and with the noun for a kid.^[2][5][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is recorded in 1584, in Du Monin.^[6][3] The form caprioler is found in the Contes d'Eutrapel of the 16th century: a troop qui caprioloit et sautoit “which capered and leapt” in front of a door.^[8]

Semantic evolution

The verb has kept the sense of the noun: to leap about, turn somersaults.^[2][9] It is said of animals, of people and, by extension, of things, and sometimes, in metaphor, of thought.^[2][9] The form caprioler, commoner in the 16th century, disappeared in the 17th.^[2][5] Rey sees in cabriolet (1755), the light two-wheeled carriage, a “carriage that capers”, from its bouncing movement.^[2]

Timeline

• 1584 – Cabrioler is first recorded, in Du Monin.^[6][3][2]
• 1585 – The form caprioler is recorded.^[2][4]
• 17th century – Caprioler goes out of use.^[2][3]
• 1625 – The derivative cabrioleur (written cabrioleuze) appears.^[2][5]
• 1755 – Cabriolet names a light carriage.^[2][5]

Meanings

Verb

1. (intransitive) To caper, to leap about or turn somersaults, to make cabrioles; said of animals and people.^{[9][4][10][1]}
2. (by extension) Of things, to bounce or move in leaps.^[9]

Word family

• cabrioleur
• cabriolet

Related words

• cabriole
• cabri
• cabrer
• chevreuil
• Latin capra

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 Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
3. ^ a b c d e Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b c d e f Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
6. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
7. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
8. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
9. ^ a b c d 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
10. ^ Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)