cellier

Forms

cellier m (plural celliers)^[1] Old French celier.^[1][2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French celier, inherited from Late Latin cellārium (“pantry, storeroom”), a derivative of cella (“small room, storeroom”).^{[3][4][5][1][6]} Rey instead calls it a borrowing from Late Latin.^[7] The Latin word meant a room in the 2nd century, a storehouse for goods in the early 3rd and a store for food by 404.^[3] The Latin noun is related to cēlō (“to hide”), whence celer.^[7]

Cognate with Old Occitan celier, Catalan celler, Spanish cillero, Portuguese celeiro and Italian cellaio.^[8][4][2] The Latin word was also borrowed as German Keller.^[8]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its first record is in the Oxford Psalter, at the beginning of the 12th century.^[3][7][5]

Semantic evolution

Of the Latin word's senses only “storeroom for provisions” passed into French; by extension it is a cool room where wine and food are kept, on the ground floor or beside the house.^[7][3] In wine regions it is the building where grapes are pressed and wine is made.^[3][9]

In Canada it has named, since 1989, an electric cabinet that keeps wine at a regulated temperature and humidity.^[10]

Timeline

• Early 12th century – Celier appears in the Oxford Psalter.^[3][7]
• c. 1175 – Cellérier, the monk in charge of the cellar, is recorded.^[7]
• 1989 – The Canadian sense “wine cabinet” is recorded.^[10]

Meanings

Noun

1. A storeroom, usually on the ground floor, where wine and provisions are kept.^{[10][9][1][2]}
2. (regional) A building where grapes are pressed and wine is made.^[3][9]
3. (Canada) An electric cabinet for storing wine at a controlled temperature.^[10]

Related words

• cellérier
• cellule
• celer
• Latin cella

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
3. ^ a b c d e f g 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
4. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
5. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 2, 575b
7. ^ a b c d e f Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
8. ^ a b Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
9. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
10. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert