cardamome

Forms

cardamome m or f (plural cardamomes)^[1] Old French cardemome (about 1170), then cardamome (1210–1223).^[2][3][4] The Anglo-Norman Dictionary records the spellings kardamome and cardomome.^[5]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin cardamomum, a word used by Pliny,^[2][3][6] first as Old French cardemome about 1170 and in its present form from 1210–1223.^[2][3] The Latin word is from Ancient Greek καρδάμωμον (kardámōmon).^[2][1][6] Rey describes the Late Greek word, the name of an aromatic plant from the East, as a compound, with one syllable shared by both parts, of the Greek names of garden cress (also the source of cardamine) and of the eastern plant amomum, which gave amome; both Greek words were probably borrowed.^[3] Wiktionary treats the French word as inherited from Old French.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

About 1170, cardemome appears in Guillaume d'Angleterre, a romance attributed to Chrétien de Troyes, as the name of the spice.^[2][3]

Semantic evolution

The word has kept the same meaning since Old French: a plant of the amomum genus grown in hot countries, especially India, and its fruit, whose peppery seeds are used as a spice in cooking and as a stimulant in medicines.^[2][3] Littré quotes a 13th-century line pairing cardemoine with nutmeg.^[7] The Anglo-Norman form is recorded from the second quarter of the 13th century.^[5]

Timeline

• c. 1170 – Cardemome appears in Guillaume d'Angleterre.^[2][3]
• 1210–1223 – The form cardamome appears in Dolopathos.^[2][3]
• 13th century – Anglo-Norman cardamome is recorded.^[5]

Meanings

Noun

1. Cardamom, an aromatic plant of the ginger family from India and South-East Asia.^[8][9][10]
2. The seeds or fruit of this plant, used as a peppery spice and in medicine: un gâteau parfumé à la cardamome.^[11][2][9]

Related words

• amome
• cardamine
• Latin cardamomum

Usage notes

The gender varies: the TLFi and Littré make it masculine,^[2][7] while the Grand Robert, the Petit Robert, the GLLF and Larousse make it feminine;^{[4][8][10][11]} Wiktionary gives both.^[1]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j 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 Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
5. ^ a b c Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–)
6. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
7. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
8. ^ a b Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
9. ^ a b Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)
10. ^ a b Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
11. ^ a b Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)