Etymologically
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châsse

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Pronunciation

Forms

châsse f (plural châsses)[1] Norman casse (about 1150), chasse; spelt châsse from 1680, and in the Académie only from 1835.[2][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old French chasse, inherited from Latin capsa (“box, case”),[2][3][4][5] which had the sense “reliquary” in Medieval Latin (about 720) and “coffin” in ecclesiastical Latin.[2][4] The Petit Robert takes the Latin word probably from capiō (“to take; to hold”).[6] It replaced the Old French synonym fiertre.[2][3]

It is a doublet of caisse and casse.[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

The Couronnement de Louis (about 1131) names a chasce among church treasures;[7][8] Wace (about 1150) has the Norman form casse for the coffer holding a saint's relics.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

Technical senses followed: the handle of a folding knife (1184), a frame holding something in place (about 1375) and, in goldsmiths' work, a glass case protecting a precious object (1285).[2][3] Richelet (1680) notes that the vowel is long, hence the circumflex.[2]

Paré comme une châsse “richly decked out” is in Beaumarchais in 1777,[9] and the Académie recorded être dorée comme une châsse in 1718.[2] A slang châsse “eye” (1833) is a back-formation from châssis used for the eyes.[3][7]

Timeline

  • c. 1131 – Chasce in the Couronnement de Louis.[7]
  • c. 1150 – Casse for a reliquary, in Wace.[2]
  • 1184 – The handle of a folding knife.[2]
  • 1285 – A goldsmith's case.[2]
  • 1680 – The spelling châsse in Richelet.[2]
  • 1718 – Être dorée comme une châsse.[2]
  • 1833 – Slang châsse “eye”.[7]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A reliquary: a richly worked coffer holding the relics of a saint.[6][10]
  2. Paré comme une châsse: richly dressed or decorated.[11][7]
  3. A mounting or frame: la châsse d'un verre de lunette; the handle of a lancet.[6][8]
  4. (slang, masculine) An eye.[10][7]

Word family

  • châssis
  • enchâsser

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m 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. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  5. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 2, 310b
  6. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  7. ^ a b c d e f Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  8. ^ a b Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  9. ^ Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
  10. ^ a b Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
  11. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert