châle

Forms

châle m (plural châles)^[1] Earlier spellings: chalou (1663), scial (1665), chal (1666), chale (1670), chaale (1770), schal (1791), schawl (1793), schall (1811).^[2][3]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Hindi शाल (śāl), a word of Persian origin, from Persian شال (šāl).^[2][4][5][1] The spelling settled as ⟨chale⟩ (1670) after isolated transcriptions such as ⟨chalou⟩ (1663) and ⟨scial⟩ (1665), the latter in a translation from Italian.^[2][4] The form ⟨schawl⟩ (1793) shows the influence of the English word shawl (from 1662), which helped spread the word in the first half of the 19th century; for the other forms that influence is hard to prove.^[2][4][3] Bloch and Wartburg say that French borrowed the word as English did, and that the form ⟨chaule⟩ (1770) comes from English.^[5] Littré derived it from Arabic, comparing Portuguese xale.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in 1663 as chalou in a remonstrance of François Pelsaert, and in 1670 as chale in François Bernier's history of the Mughal empire.^[2] At first it named shawls made in Kashmir from Tibetan wool.^[5]

Semantic evolution

At first an exotic word used in travel accounts, it came into everyday use as a fashionable anglicism early in the 19th century, mostly written schall; the spelling châle won after 1860.^[4][3] The garment was at first necessarily linked with an oriental, Persian-inspired style of decoration, a link that has gradually faded.^[4] Littré still defined it first as a long piece of cloth worn by Orientals, especially as a turban.^[6]

Timeline

• 1663 – Chalou appears in a remonstrance of François Pelsaert.^[2][3]
• 1670 – François Bernier writes chale.^[2][4]
• 1770 – Raynal writes chaale.^[2][3]
• 1793 – The anglicized spelling schawl appears.^[2][4]
• 1811 – The spelling schall is recorded.^[3]
• After 1860 – The spelling châle prevails.^[4]

Meanings

Noun

1. A shawl, a large piece of cloth that women drape over their shoulders: un châle de laine.^[7][8]
2. A long piece of cloth worn by people of the East as a turban or belt.^[9][6]
3. Col châle: a shawl collar, a wide crossed collar with rounded lapels.^[7][9]

Related words

• English shawl

References

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