carbure

Forms

carbure m (plural carbures)^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from French carbone + -ure, a learned derivative built on the stem of the noun.^[2][3][4] Bloch and Wartburg derive it directly from the stem of Latin carbō (“coal, charcoal”).^[5][6] English uses carbide for the same compound, a word recorded from 1848 and formed with the suffix -ide.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The word is dated 1787 by the DHLF, Bloch and Wartburg and the Petit Robert;^[3][5][8] the TLFi's earliest quotation is from the Encyclopédie méthodique in 1795, for a compound of carbon with another element.^[2][6]

Semantic evolution

In 1803 Boiste listed the word under two genders: the feminine for the combination of carbon with other bases, the masculine for a concrete compound of that kind.^[2][3] The masculine prevailed.^[3]

In ordinary use carbure came to mean especially calcium carbide, used in acetylene lamps (lampe à carbure).^[3][6][8] In slang it also became a metaphorical word for money.^[3][9] Most of its derivatives date from the first half of the 19th century: carburé (1823) and carburer (1853), the verb later used of an engine mixing its fuel and air.^[3]

Timeline

• 1787 – First record of carbure.^[3][5][8]
• 1795 – The Encyclopédie méthodique uses it.^[2][6]
• 1803 – Boiste records it as both feminine and masculine.^[2][3]
• 1823 – The adjective carburé appears.^[3]
• 1848 – English carbide is first recorded.^[7]
• 1853 – The verb carburer appears.^[3]
• 1907 – The derivative carburant is recorded.^[5]

Meanings

Noun

1. (chemistry) A binary compound of carbon with another element, a carbide: carbure de fer, carbure de tungstène.^[8][2] Carbures d’hydrogène are the hydrocarbons.^[8][10][2]
2. Calcium carbide, used in acetylene lamps: une lampe à carbure.^[8][6][2]
3. (slang) money.^[9][3]

Word family

• carburant
• carburer
• carburateur
• carburation

Related words

• carbone
• hydrocarbure
• Latin carbō
• English carbide

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ 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
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, 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. ^ a b c d e Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
7. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
8. ^ a b c d e f Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ a b Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
10. ^ Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)