cailler

Forms

cailler^[1] Old French coaillier, quailler.^[2][1][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French coaillier, inherited from Latin coāgulō (“to curdle, to congeal”).^[4][5][6] Wiktionary gives a Vulgar Latin syncopated form *coaglō.^[1] Littré explains the change by the loss of the short ⟨u⟩, which gave the Old French form and finally the modern one.^[1][7] The Latin verb is formed on coāgulum (“rennet, curdled milk”), from cōgō (“to drive together”), a compound of co- and agō (“to drive”).^[6] The learned doublet is coaguler.^[1][2]

Cognate with Italian quagliare, Occitan calhar, Spanish cuajar, Portuguese coalhar and Romanian închega.^[8][9]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Oxford Psalter (early 12th century) has coailliez est, sicume lait “it is curdled like milk”, of the heart: the verb meant to curdle or congeal.^[4][7][3]

Semantic evolution

The verb, used intransitively, transitively and reflexively, has always meant to curdle or clot, of milk and blood; the participle lait caillé gave the noun caillé in the early 14th century.^[6][4] In familiar speech of the early 20th century, with a person as subject, it took the sense “to be frozen with cold” (on caille, on se caille), and impersonally ça caille “it is freezing”.^[6][10]

Timeline

• c. 1120 – Coaillier appears in the Oxford Psalter.^[6][3][4]
• Early 14th century – The noun caillé arises from lait caillé.^[4]
• 1478 – The derivative caillement is recorded.^[4][6]
• Early 20th century – It is used familiarly for “to be cold”.^[6]

Meanings

Verb

1. (transitive) To curdle or clot, of milk or blood: la présure caille le lait.^[10][4]
2. (intransitive, reflexive) To curdle, form caillots: le lait a caillé, le sang se caille.^[10][4]
3. (familiar) To be very cold: on caille, on se caille; impersonally ça caille, it is freezing.^[10][6][1]

Word family

• caillement
• caillebotter
• caillé
• caillage

Related words

• caillot
• caillant
• coaguler
• Latin coāgulō

Usage notes

Littré has a separate noun cailler, from caille “quail”: a device for catching quails, or a call imitating their cry, found in the 15th century as caillier.^[7]

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, 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 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. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 2, 816a
6. ^ a b c d e f g h Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
9. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
10. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert